Glenn's Donuts opens in Selden
Doughnut assortments from the new Glenn's Donuts in Selden on July 1. Credit: Newsday/Marie Elena Martinez
"This is crazy," said Glenn Alessi, the wholesale baker behind Glenn Wayne Bakery in Bohemia, and owner of the new Glenn’s Donuts in Selden. "Our trucks have been here to restock three times." Alessi sounded incredulous perusing the empty shelves which had held over 600 boxes of doughnuts when the shop opened on its first day of business just hours earlier.
While this is not a bad problem to have at a new doughnut shop, perhaps the buy-one, get-one-free strategy, Glenn’s opening promotion on July 1, backfired. By 1 p.m. the shelves were, quite literally, bare.
Alessi owns the wholesale Glenn Wayne Bakery in Bohemia with his brother-in-law, Wayne Stelz. Glenn Wayne has serviced metropolitan area cafes, delis, gas stations, restaurants, and most notably, 7-Eleven retail stores with baked goods — including doughnuts — since 1990. The company also runs a bakery outlet where folks can get Glenn Wayne’s treats at a discounted price. But doughnuts are the star at the new retail location that Alessi is running with his wife, Tonya, and two daughters.
Glenn's Donuts in Selden is a retail shop devoted to the longtime wholesaler Glenn Wayne Bakery's doughnuts. Credit: Newsday/Marie Elena Martinez
Doughnuts are made fresh daily at Glenn Wayne’s Bohemia warehouse and trucked over to Selden’s Independence Plaza in assorted boxes of six ($10-$12). The Cloud Nine collection includes two powdered sugar doughnuts filled with vanilla buttercream, two key lime and coconut doughnuts, and two sugar varieties. The playful Goose combo includes a pair each of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry iced doughnuts with colored sprinkles. The Mamootz includes peanut butter and chocolate themed doughnuts, while the Sinful is made up of a red velvet cake doughnut collection. Popular flavors like glazed, which are perfect fluffy, soft specimens of goodness, as well as apple fritters, Boston cream and sugared jelly doughnuts come in their own dedicated six-packs. The Selden location also stocks danish, muffins, cakes and other goodies from the bakery, including a gluten-free area of the shop.
Glenn’s Donuts, 203 Independence Plaza, Selden, 631-846-1421; open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Wednesday and Sunday.
A global freelancer who has checked her suitcase to raise her young daughter on her native Long Island, Marie Elena will always make time for good mezcal, even better tacos and killer conversation. Preferably, in a corner bar seat. She can be found on Instagram at @mariesworldeats.
