Local Business: Meet Tony Badra of Tony's Doughnuts

For the past 20 years, the family owned Tony’s Donuts has been a happy morning ritual for the people of Hazelwood, MO.

Tony’s Donuts has two locations and and is run by George and Kathy Badra and their two kids, Tony and Kathleen. Patch caught up with baker Tony Badra for a look back on what has made this hometown business successful.

1) What have you learned while starting and operating your own business?

Owning a business is past a full time job. You are on the clock for 25 hours a day, 8 days a week. That much. In turn, what you put in to it is what you get out of it.

2) What was the biggest thing that surprised you as a business owner?

Finding good help is hard to come by. Customer service is a huge aspect of owning a small business to be competitive in your market. Standards become higher in the hiring process.

3) What’s the best part of owning your own business?

Being your own boss.

4) What have you learned through the challenges of owning your own business?

That you always need to have a backup plan and be prepared for anything. There’s no calling corporate for us, we need to figure out how to get things taken care of on our own. It may be a freezer, air conditioning unit or mixing bowl, we’re the ones to account for it.

You learn how to be handy in a sense as well. Whenever a technician comes in of any sort, we are always trying to learn how to take care of it ourselves so that we may be able to save our money and time by fixing it before we call someone.

5) How important is it for people to support independent business owners in their community?

It is extremely important to support small businesses. The amount of small businesses in the area will increase the economy in that neighborhood. All the money is cycled throughout the community.

6) Are there any traditions that have been passed down over the years that Tony’s Doughnuts follows to this day when it comes to producing their donuts?

We have been using the same process for almost 20 years now. Fresh, hand-cut, donuts made daily. We mix, knead, roll, and cut the dough by hand. We use 100 % pure vegetable shortening and do not deep fry our donuts, we top fry them. Although it is much more time consuming, we pride ourselves on having delicious donuts that aren’t full of grease. There’s no way around it for us.

7) What inspires you to get up every morning?

The fact that so many people in our area are relying on us for their breakfast. That we are part of celebrations at the workplace and at home. We are creating memories for grandparents, parents and kids.

8) How do you ensure quality in your work?

By having procedures in place and being constantly aware of all situations going on.

9) What does “good” mean to you and your business? What makes for a good day?

A good day would be making as many people as happy as possible. Getting through our lines to the door quickly and efficiently while maintaining quality and control.

10) What makes the people who work for your business unique?

Although we are diverse, we are a family. We care about each other far beyond the confines of our workplace. It is what sets us apart.