Finding Minnesota

• Apr 28, 2008 7:31 am US/Central
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  Finding Minnesota: Mel-O-Glaze Bakery

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Finding Minnesota: Mel-O-Glaze Bakery

Reporting
Jeanette Trompeter

Mel-O-Glaze Bakery has been around since the 1940s, and Bosella's family has owned it since 1961. She runs the place now.

"Every day somebody comes in here that has a story. They say 'I haven't been here for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. They might be 50, 60 years old, and they say their grandfather, grandmother brought them here as a child," said Bosella.

Almost 70 years after its inception, Mel-O-Glaze is often named the best donut shop in the Twin Cities by local publications.

"Last year Metro Magazine named us as one of the 100 reasons to live in Twin Cities. Right up there with Como Park," Bosella exclaims, like she still can't believe it.

You won't find a huge selection of baked goods here, but what they have is pretty tasty. And people come to Mel-O-Glaze for more than the donuts. The raised glazed donuts are worth the trip alone, and the apple fritters are worth the calories. However, it's something less tangible that makes this place such a Twin Cities treasure.

It's a gathering spot; a place where people know each other's names by simply crossing paths on a regular basis.

"There's a political-minded individual with many years of college there," said Mel-O-Glaze regular Rudy Peterson as he teases another guy sitting at his table. "That's Ronald. And this is Big Carl. He does the heavy lifting here."

In a world where cities look more and more alike, where the pace of life gets quicker and our conversations shorter, Mel-O-Glaze stands as an opportunity to buck the trend.

"I know elders that go to banks just to have the social interaction of doing a transaction," said Peterson. "There's nothing like good conversation and testing other people's minds, it's just being human."

Bosella admits it's tough to sell enough donuts to even fill a gas tank these days, but she's out to carry on a family tradition, not to get rich.

"Certainly you need to earn a living, but I earn a living otherwise, so this is just something I just really enjoy doing," she said.

Bosella has given into the changing times to some degree. She now takes credit cards, and no longer takes IOUs (at least not officially.) She does take great pride in the fact that on any given day a stranger can walk in and find a new friend within a matter of minutes.

"There's quite a coterie of people who show up here. And they all have stories. And Paulette says it's the center of the universe," said Peterson. She just might be right.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)