A small local doughnut shop called Lafeen’s received recognition in a book that compiles a variety of recipes from local businesses in Bellingham, Wash. Lafeen’s has been serving customers for more than 25 years from its location across the street from Whatcom Falls Park in the Whatcom Falls neighborhood.
Steven Siler is a local author and firefighter who published the book “Signature Tastes of Bellingham” in October of last year. According to an article in Publishers Weekly, the book was one of the three holiday bestsellers at Village Books, another local Bellingham business.
Despite the economic recession, Lafeen’s continues to thrive with a steady stream of regular customers as well as newcomers who arrive to satisfy their sugar or caffeine cravings. Justin Born has been working at Lafeen’s for 18 months and he said business is better than ever now that the shop has free refills for coffee and free Wi-Fi.
Although Lafeen’s gained exposure in “Signature Tastes of Bellingham,” Born maintained that most people learn about the shop by word of mouth.
“We’re the oldest doughnut shop in Bellingham,” Born said. “We don’t even really advertise…I’d definitely say we’re a landmark because we’re the only Lafeen’s.”
Born said the shop sees fewer customers in the winter, but business improves during the warmer months, especially because of the shop’s proximity to parks. Although Lafeen’s is closer to Whatcom Falls Park, Bloedel Donovan Park is a popular place to go in the summer and people often stop for doughnuts on their way to or from that park, Born said.
“We also get a whole lot of mountain bikers coming in because we’re actually at the bottom of Galbraith [Mountain],” Born said.
Many customers stop in as they are driving by. Karen Jensen, a regular customer at Lafeen’s, moved to the Bellingham area from Marysville, Wash. She often visits the shop on her way to town.
“Lafeen’s has the best doughnuts in town,” Jensen said.
Another customer who frequents the shop is John Moore. He said he has fond memories of bringing his granddaughters to Lafeen’s. Moore used to come in once a week by bus, but he said he drives now because of his age.
According to Born, the shop sells mostly dessert items in addition to doughnuts and ice cream. Brownies, muffins and turnovers are also available at Lafeen’s. The baked goods are made fresh from scratch daily and the leftovers are donated.
“We never sell a day-old doughnut,” Born said. “We donate the day-olds to the senior center every day.”
A large thank-you note from the senior center is tacked on a wall of the shop, along with “Lafeen’s Love Boxes.” These are small boxes for doughnuts that are flattened and decorated with markers by children, Born said.
According to Born, the Lafeen family founded Lafeen’s 27 years ago. Mr. Lafeen was a cabinetmaker and built all of the interior walls, cabinets and counters. Born said that the owner of the shop, Chan Bun Samuth, has been approached by remodeling companies to see if he would like to change the counters to stainless steel from the current Formica. The answer to such suggestions is always no.
“We haven’t modernized our whole shop,” Born said. “This is the local feel we’ve got, the local vibe we want to give.”
Another advantage Born mentioned to the classic look of Lafeen’s is some customers remember coming to the shop as children and now they are grown up and the store is just the same.
“We get more familiar faces coming through here than we get more first-timers,” Born said.
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