THE DONUT HOLE IN ALLSTON’S HEART
“We couldn’t find a good enough reason to renew the lease,” commented Catherine Taing, a member of the family who managed Twin Donuts since 2001. I met her at Brighton Cafe, another establishment owned by the Taing family’s restaurant group, where we had iced coffees and chicken sandwiches. According to Taing, the shop’s lease with the Hamilton Company had steadily increased each year. While the decision to close was emotional, it didn’t come as a surprise. Although Twin Donuts only paused its operations for one month at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, their sales never returned to pre-pandemic levels.
The wind was knocked from my lungs when I heard that Twin Donuts, the beloved family-owned diner in Allston, was closing on March 23. Open since 1955, the donut shop served 70 years’ worth of glazed donuts, sugary iced coffee, and sweet customer service to Boston residents. Families, neighbors, Jackson/Mann K-8 teachers, and rowdy local rock stars all fit the clientele bill sustained by a breakfast at Twin Donuts. The closure marked the end of a delicious chapter in Allston history.
“Donut business is dying, it’s not just us,” Taing shared while brewing a fresh pot of coffee. Donuts, she specified, have become less popular in Massachusetts, where they once held a unique significance to the community. Twin Donuts does seem to follow a trend of small business donut shops closing in the last ten years, and even the comically abundant Dunkin’ dropped the “Donuts” from their name in 2019. Taing noted that changes in the neighborhood impacted Twin Donuts’ business as well. While she didn’t explicitly name gentrification, these
shifts are clear symptoms of the phenomenon. According to a 2021 article in the Harvard Crimson, Allston’s median household income swelled from $37,487 in 2011 to $62,614 in 2019—a 67% increase; this percentage suggests an influx of high-income earners into the neighborhood, or the departure of low-income residents. At the same time, housing prices rose by 43% and median rent increased by 36%. As a wealthier population moved into Allston’s pricier homes, it seems that appetites have also shifted. In the same week that Twin Donuts closed, Blank Street Coffee, a venture capitalbacked, TikTok-trendy chain, opened a new location in Brookline, less than a mile away. Despite its shinier competition, Twin Donuts’ closure outraged the Allston community. From the cafe’s iconic isosceles structure to its beckoning neon signage welcoming all who were weary, withered, or wrecked, if you’ve seen Twin Donuts, you know Twin Donuts. The donut shop’s image is so sacred that local residents launched a petition to declare the sign a historical landmark, obligating the town to preserve its structure. The petition, which accumulated nearly 700 signatures, describes the sign defining the neighborhood character: “This is our Citgo Sign, our North Star.” “I’m all for it,” Taing responded when asked if she would like the sign to remain. “But, I have to wonder, if a hot pot restaurant went in, would they want to work under the Twin Donuts sign?” She appreciated the community’s action, while
also expressing her humility and consideration for the next building’s inhabitant. Taing has worked with her family’s diners for over 20 years, so long that it has become second nature to her. During our conversation, I watched her coordinate DoorDash deliveries, refill sodas, and take no less than 15 orders with ease. When I asked her what she enjoyed most about the job, she immediately said, “the regulars.” Their clientele have an outstanding loyalty, according to Taing, with regulars continuing to dine at her family’s establishments as they moved from lease to lease. In an appreciation card she offered to every patron, she wrote Photo Credit: Lauren Miller as Photography that she regarded her guests “more of friends and family than just patrons.” Twin Donuts’ departure has prompted me to examine my own spending habits, and who I want to support when the people in power destabilize our communities. I would encourage you, dear reader, and myself to spend our money at small, local, family-run establishments when we can. Enjoy a meal at Brighton Cafe, Cafe Mirror, and any other small business that you love. Thank you to Catherine Taing and her family, for feeding bellies, hearts, and the Allston neighborhood.
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