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There was no place I felt cooler in my early 20s than with my friends in a Waffle House at 4 a.m., probably there feasting after a concert in a sweaty basement or bar-hopping.
The food was always greasy and always cheap; but even better were the conversations with friends, which would go on hours longer than the meal itself, about music, movies, politics, the scary post-recession future, and lots of dumb things in between.
I had heard that this type of space for Rat City’s hipsters was once Twin Donuts, inviting in young people with throbbing headaches and aching stomachs with its landmark neon sign. Lines formed out the door just for its affordable breakfast sandwiches on weekend mornings.
But due to COVID-19, which ruined all good things, and neighborhood changes that have made Allston more expensive, business on those weekend mornings was slower. Customers weren’t going out as much, or were using delivery apps to find their meals instead. Allston has lost its gritty cool factor to luxury apartments and coffeeshop chains. Blue-collar night shift or early morning workers had also frequented Twin Donuts, but higher rents have pushed them out, too.
My first visit to Twin Donuts was last weekend — its second to last weekend open. The diner, which has been serving doughnuts since the 1950s, is closing for good.
I walked into Twin Donuts on Saturday around noon, and the place was packed with mostly young, cool diners. There was a line out the door. Seating was scarce, as was space to move around. Orders were shouted loudly over patron discussions of the night before, St. Patrick’s Day plans, concerts coming up at nearby venues, and even American imperialism.
My combo breakfast — pancakes, french toast, bacon, home fries, and eggs for $13 — took 20 minutes to get, given how busy it was. It was no bottomless mimosa brunch with seven different bizarrely filled pancakes on the menu, but that’s not really the point of a place like Twin Donuts, is it?
For Hannah Exum, who drove two hours from western Massachusetts to say farewell to Twin Donuts, it was a space that defined their young adulthood.
“It’s a place where you really connect with yourself and connect with your friends. This was just always our spot. We would wake up in the morning after a long night of doing whatever it was at 19. It was a place where we began our lives.”
Though the crowd was mostly young, there were a few customers who’d known Twin Donuts for decades. One man left disappointed once realizing the restaurant was completely out of doughnuts for the day; an employee told me they ran out at 10 a.m.
“Most places don’t make them like they do. They make doughnuts the old way,” the man said.
Families were also there. It’d been years since Jason Kaufman and his son, Louis Kaufman, had come to Twin Donuts. They traveled from Jamaica Plain one last time to say their goodbyes to the kind of place that has been disappearing from American culture.
“Places like this and the Busy Bee were a reflection of Boston times past. For people with lesser means, this was an important type of restaurant to get food that was affordable. It’s part of a gentrifying Boston that places like this are leaving.”
But even more interesting were the several people I spoke to who, like me, were dining there for the first time. They had been meaning to try it, and never did.
“People need to be more aware that if they’re not supporting the small businesses that they love, then they’re going to start closing,” said Haley Malczewski. “Now more than ever, small businesses need the support of their communities to be able to stay open.”
The reason Twin Donuts is closing is because the cost of “everything” has gone up, according to an employee. Rent, eggs, equipment, etc. And according to Eater Boston in 2023, these factors had also pushed out their regulars — the “hippie-punk crowd” — from Allston.
I talked to a co-worker, who’s lived in Allston on and off for years, about the neighborhood losing its cool. The places she listened to music (Great Scott, though it’s coming back), drank (Patron’s), and now ate hangover breakfast have or are closing. These places, including Twin Donuts, were part of an Allston identity that’s been fading for years now.
What will happen to the neon sign? What will the space become next? Another Tatte or Capital One Cafe? It mostly makes me sad to think that a group of friends today, like my own a decade ago — creative, broke, rebellious — is losing these spaces in Boston.
To Malczewski’s great point above, you can support Twin Donuts through March 23. The Taing family, who have operated Twin Donuts for 25 years now, will continue operations at Brighton Cafe and Cafe Mirror.
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What I’ve been eating this week: Pistachio croissant from La Saison
I’ve been on a tear of Boston’s sweet treat scene as of late, ordering pastries any chance I get. They’ve all been good because they’re pastries, but this one from La Saison was a knockout. It’s stuffed with finely ground pistachios, so it wasn’t overwhelmingly chunky, but the star of the show was the saffron mascarpone frosting. I also ordered a tuna sandwich (also on a croissant) for lunch, and I can already see it being a workday go-to. Where do you go for a little treat when you’re in the mood?
— Katelyn Umholtz
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