8 Friday, September 25, 1987 / University Daily Kansan Campus/Area Joe's glazed doughnuts keep late-night customers loyal Above, late-night doughnut-seekers flock to Joe's Bakery, 616 W Ninth St. Right, founder of Joe's Bakery, Joe Smith, glazes a caramel apple, Smith, who has retired and turned the business over to his son, Ralph, opened the shop in 1952. Photos by L.A. Rauch By ELAINEWOODFORD Special to the Kansan It usually hits at 11 p.m. You've finished one paragraph of the 15-page term paper that's due at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow. Suddenly, you realize that the inspiration you need — a little piece of heaven — is warm and waiting for you down at Joe's Bakery. Congratulations — you're about to take part in a 35-year-old KU tradition, the Joe's Run DQTM Joe's Bakery, 616 W. Ninth Street, is a KU institution, its student customers say. But Ralph Smith, owner of the bakery, with his hands full of warm doughnuts and a smile on his face, says, "I really don't know what an institution is. It's just my business." Ralph's father, Joe Smith, opened the shop in 1952 to sell baked goods to local customers. As time passed and larger bakeries from Topeka and the Kansas City area threatened his business, he turned to baking more doughnuts and cookies for college students. The shop's hours — six days a week from 6 a.m to 3 a.m. — have made it a hit with late night studios. "For a little bakery, it still amazes me," Ralph Smith said. He has owned the bakery for eight years since his father retired. Even though Joe is退休, he still comes down to the store at least once a day "just to see how things are going." Ralph Smith said. The cramped shop has always been Smith's second home. He moves with the ease of long familiarity among the appliances in the kitchen area behind the store front, where the temperature is several degrees higher and the sweet smell of baking doughnuts is even stronger than it is in front. Smith said that he didn't notice the aroma anymore — except when something was being burned — "and then it's really noticeable." Ralph, 30, has been in the bakery business all his life. He started out washing dishes and progressed through the years to counter clerk, doughnut master, pastry chef. "Sometimes, though, these doughnuts don't look very good to me." Smith said as he flipped cut dough from the floured board into his waiting hand. His personal favorite from the shop isn't even a pastry. He prefers a roast beef pie and popped in the microwave after he gets home from a day of work at 3:30 a.m. But working at Joe's isn't always the sweet life. LaVerta Logan, an eight-year veteran of the doughnut business, said that all kinds of people came into Joe's. "Ever since the drinking age went up last year, people have been a lot more human," Logan said. Smith doesn't worry about employees eating all the profits, because there isn't time for them to stand around and eat. But they can have all the broken As it has through the years, Smith's most popular item remains the 19-cent hot glazed doughnut. Patricia Domann, a KU alumni and Lawrence resident, remembers going down to Joe's from Gertrude Sellars Pearson-Corbin Hall in the early 1970s for the big doughnuts. "I remember the doughnuts, hot and very greasy, and of course, the lines." Domann said. "There were always lines, no matter when you went." How many doughnuts does a hungry community consume in one day? Smith starts preparing dough at 5:30 p.m. in anticipation of the steady crowds that start lining up about 8 p.m. Suprisingly, the process takes only 15 minutes to complete. He uses his father's original recipes but has added a few twists of his own. He has also introduced several new items to the menu, including bear claws. "I've never really counted just how many doughnuts that I made," Smith said, "but I start out with 175 pounds of flour. By the time I add the rest of the ingredients, the first batch weighs over 200 pounds." He has also introduced several new items to the menu, including bear claws. At 11:35 p.m. on a recent Monday, more than 50 people stood elbow to elbow in the bakery. What is it that compels people to come to Joe's at all hours of the night? "It is a ritual we have," said Jan Buchhoe, Overland Park senior. "I hate to admit it, but we come down here because we bored." Buchhoe said she had seen the video on her phone. "It's a legend," said Trevor Stone, Tulsa, Okla., sophomore Domino's Pizza Delivers Doubles Two Pizzas for Only $5.99! Now you can have two delicious, 10" pizzas for the price of one. They are made with your choice of choices on each – they don't have to be the same. And we use only the freshest ingredients and no salt or sugar. You're not seeing double It's just our latest way to say that Domino's Pizza Delivers. *A* and we deliver at no additional charge in 30 minutes or less. 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