Country Kitchen
Donuts Millis/VisitingNewEngland small business partnership - Local Small Business Stories
Country Kitchen Donuts, Millis, Mass: For Love of Doughnuts, Muffins, Breakfast Sandwiches,
Coffee, Community
A landmark small business in
Walpole, Mass., Country Kitchen Donuts opens a second location in a
most welcoming town
Trevor Stevens, who manages Country Kitchen in Millis, showcases some delicious homemade doughnuts.
Article and photos, unless otherwise noted, by Eric Hurwitz.
Article
created on 9/13/2019.
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For Country Kitchen Donuts and Millis, Mass., it was a match meant to
be.
A few years ago, John Stevens, owner of Country Kitchen Donuts in Walpole, Mass. (dating
back to 1969), was looking for a second location to expand upon
the locally beloved flagship business. John didn't have to travel too
far to open the second doughnut shop, just eight miles down the road in
Millis.
His son, Trevor
Stevens, who oversees the Millis Country Kitchen, said a strong sense
of community became a major factor in choosing to do business in this
town of around 8,000 residents about 30 miles southwest of Boston.
"Being a service industry, you want to feel welcome," said
Trevor, 30. "Once we saw what Millis was all about, it was an easy
choice. The town has that small town family feel."
Make that a small town with a growing economic development plan and
plenty of local interest in small businesses on a busy but classic small-town
Americana road, Route 109. That's where the
Stevens family decided to launch Country Kitchen Donuts -- on the outskirts of
the central district in Millis.
"We liked the feel of the town but my dad wanted to make sure we would
be in a place with enough people," said Trevor. "He sat outside to look
at the traffic and decided this was the place."
Aerial photo of Country Kitchen (right side of building). Photo credit:
Country Kitchen Donuts Millis Facebook fan page.
"While we were building, people were peeking in and asking when we were
going to open," said Trevor. "There was a lot of anticipation."
The birth of an instantly lovable place
Inviting dining space at Country Kitchen
Donuts
Millis.
John, Trevor and Walpole friend/construction specialist Steve
Leger
took about five months to create the space. Having opened in April 2019, Country Kitchen Donuts in Millis is a bit
of a departure from the look of the Walpole location.
"Walpole is a little more old school as here (in Millis) we have more
of an updated look although we are not at the point where we have
robots cleaning up," said Trevor with a laugh.
The off-white and red brick walls, fireplace with a sitting area and
television, counter facing the windows bringing in nice sunlight and
country accessories reflect the small towns ways of Millis. John's
wife, Tove, contributed mightily, also, crafting chairs with a cow
design.
Chairs with cow design created by Tove Stevens, wife of Country Kitchen Donuts
owner John Stevens.
Behind the ordering counter and the display case below showcases all
those delicious handmade, fresh
doughnuts. as well as bagels and other baked goods that rank among the
best in the Boston suburbs...
Doughnuts and bagels. Photo credit: Country Kitchen Donuts Millis
Facebook fan
page.
Muffins made fresh daily are another Country Kitchen highlight...
Delicious homemade muffins.
And New England Coffee, a local favorite,
is always brewing and fully complementing the baked goods and breakfast
sandwiches (more on the latter shortly)...
Hot coffee ready to be served.
Small-town conversations are constantly going on about school,
church, town government, and weekend getaways to the Cape and New
Hampshire. Groups of friends regularly gather over doughnuts and
coffee...
Cozy gathering space at Country Kitchen Millis.
And kids can hardly wait for their treats to migrate from behind the
glass to their hands..
.
Ordering some doughnuts for the family.
Those in and around the Millis area couldn't be any happier about
the second Country Kitchen Donuts opening.
"Country Kitchen is a wonderful addition to Millis, which is already a
quintessential New England town," said Vanessa Hoskins. "I grew up
going to the one in Walpole, and I'm very glad to have one so close to
home now that I live in Millis. The baked goods and doughnuts are made
fresh every day and are absolutely delicious. The lemon donuts are what
dreams are made of. It's great to have everyone who works there be so
local, too. It seems like everyone knows someone who works there. Even
though it's new to town, it has such a homey feel to it. I can't say
enough good things about Country Kitchen!"
Dining counter area at Country Kitchen Donuts Millis.
A different menu than the Walpole Country Kitchen Donuts
While Country Kitchen in Millis serves the traditional doughnuts
(chocolate, honeydip), oversized chock-full-of-flavor muffins, bagels, scones, coffee
rolls and New England Coffee that helped make the Walpole location a
local household name, the newer location does exhibit some major food selection
differences.
First, Country Kitchen Donuts in
Millis serves breakfast sandwiches.
Not typical assembly-line breakfast sandwiches but huge versions that
both taste great and satiate the appetite. It's served on a bagel that
barely contains the large serving on egg and bacon combined with
delicious gooey cheese.
Bacon, egg and cheese on a bagel breakfast sandwich.
Trevor, who has years of experience
in the service industry, also
decided to get more creative with the doughnuts but not let go of what
has worked in the past at the Walpole Country Kitchen Donuts. He has added cereal and candy
doughnuts to the
Country Kitchen Donuts Millis menu including Captain Crunch, Cinnamon
Toast, Heath Bar, Oreo and these Fruity Pebbles doughnuts...
Fruity Pebbles cereal doughnut from Country Kitchen Millis.
The fabulous Nutella doughnuts also stand as a popular new treat...
Nutella doughnuts. Photo credit: Country Kitchen Donuts Millis Facebook
fan
page.
It's like the best of both worlds -- that is, enjoying the newer
concoctions while devouring old-time favorites
like lemon-filled (a big seller in Millis), chocolate, seasonal apple
cider and chocolate
sprinkle...
Stack of traditional doughnuts.
"We definitely experiment with making different kind of doughnut
flavors here," said Trevor. "Also, although everything served here is a focal
point, the breakfast sandwiches are a major one. Breakfast sandwiches
were requested many times at Walpole. We weren't able to do that there,
but have done so in Millis. It has been a big hit."
Local resident Donna Concilio Jenks has found Country Kitchen Donuts Millis to be her go-to morning stop.
"It is my morning stopping
ground for a fresh delicious cup of coffee,"
said Donna, who owns the Midway Restaurant in Dedham, Mass.
"The breakfast sandwiches would even fill up the truck drivers driving
down Route 109. The specialty doughnuts look very creative. I don't eat
doughnuts but I do buy them for my staff once in a while...The place is
always clean, and that's the first thing I look for in any restaurant.
The staff works well together and are always pleasant no matter how
busy they are."
While not from
Millis, Sarah Spencer also feels right at home when visiting Country
Kitchen Donuts in Millis.
"I
visited Country Kitchen Donuts, which was recommended by my daughter and
son-in-law who absolutely love it there, "said Spencer. "The atmosphere
is friendly and the servers were very patient while I was trying to decide
between doughnuts and scones. There were some business people there on
their laptops. We chatted with another mom with a young child. The coffee
is amazing and there are so many flavors, but the doughnuts are out of
this world. They taste so fresh and so many flavors. Also, I had to try
the scones and muffins. When I visit Millis, this is my coffee shop."
Blueberry scones. Photo credit: Country Kitchen Donuts Millis Facebook
page.
A Strong Foundation Bodes Well for Country Kitchen Millis
What a nice sitting area to enjoy doughnuts and coffee!
Although it took some time to realize, Trevor has the baked goods
family gene. John, his dad Jim Stevens and Uncle George Stevens first
started the Walpole Country Kitchen Donuts in 1969. After George
left the business and Jim retired as an owner, John quickly graduated
from backroom employee to owner. Having worked mostly behind the scenes
while his dad was “a jack of all trades,” John had a challenge ahead as
the sole owner.
John, with his experience at Country Kitchen Donuts and
possessing an associate’s degree in restaurant and hotel management
from Schenectady Community College in Schenectady, N.Y., worked
countless hours to turn the Walpole doughnut shop into something
special. Based on a foundation of hard work and sticking to what has
worked best, John ultimately created a local household
name business.
John still actively runs the Walpole Country Kitchen Donuts while
Trevor exhibits many of his dad's traits at the Millis spot. Like his dad,
Trevor is personable, hard-working, creative, resourceful (like
helping build the space), big on customer service and good to his
employees. Also
like father, Trevor displays a healthy serving of good old-fashioned
small business spirit with a firm handshake, a big smile and eye-to-eye
contact. It's the ultimate expression of trust, respect and gratitude
between manager and customer.
Millis residents and
those not from the area see that camaraderie as a main course to the
community-based atmosphere and outstanding doughnuts, muffins, bagels,
breakfast sandwiches, scones, coffee cakes and all the other good
comfort food breakfast items (along with a nice cup of coffee) that
America has come to love.
"I’ve known Trevor and his family
for years and have been a big Walpole Country Kitchen fan since we’ve
met," said Kerri Vartanian. "When I found out they were opening a
second location -- seconds from where I work -- I was very excited.
I’m there almost every morning to get my coffee. It’s by far the best
tasting in town. As for their doughnuts, I think the best thing I can
say
is that they’re so good my co-workers have actually skipped out on a
birthday cake from my boss on their birthdays and get a dozen
doughnuts
from Country Kitchen instead. To say they’re delicious is an
understatement."
Plain chocolate doughnut from Country Kitchen Donuts. Photo credit:
Country Kitchen Millis Facebook fan page.
Trevor expresses deep appreciation toward his dad and the chance to run a business and serve the
community. At an age when many are still trying to figure out what
career path to choose and commit to, Trevor gets to help produce and
create products at this humble little doughnut shop within a beautiful,
most welcoming small town.
"I am always pleased how friendly and welcoming this community is,"
said Trevor. "It's really great to be here."
Country Kitchen Donuts Millis is located at 1140 Main St. (Route
109), Millis MA. Tel.
(774) 335-2008.
Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/CountryKitchenMillis/
Instagram page:
http://www.instagram.com/ckdonutsmillis
Twitter page: https://www.twitter.com/CKdonutsMillis
Save the Country Kitchen Donuts Millis graphic below on Pinterest...
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More local small business
reading:
Tessie's Bar & Kitchen, Walpole, Mass
Oliva's Market, Milford, Mass.
http://wwwParker's Pub, Wrentham, Mass.
Winsmith Mill Market, Norwood, Mass.
PJ's Smoke "N" Grill, Medway, Mass.
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