GRAND LEDGE, Mich. — A Grand Ledge bakery experienced busy demand Tuesday customers lined up for traditional Fat Tuesday treats, with over 2,000 pączki pre-ordered before the day began.
- More than 2,000 pączki were pre-ordered before Fat Tuesday even began
- Preparation required over 24 hours of straight work making everything from scratch
- The bakery served hundreds of customers seeking traditional Polish pastries throughout the busy day
Flour Child Bakery opened its doors at 6 a.m. to find a line that quickly stretched outside the building. The rush continued throughout the day as neighbors sought the traditional Polish pastries to celebrate Fat Tuesday.
WATCH: Grand Ledge's Flour Child Bakery handles massive Fat Tuesday pączki demand
"The rush started at 6am, we opened the doors, the line was out the doors right away, and once we got our bearings going, we got settled, we were able to get people through pretty quickly," co-owner Terrance Augustine said. "We expect a line pretty much all day."
Brandy Gray was among the hundreds of customers who visited the bakery for the first time.
"Well today for me, It's Fat Tuesday. It's really nice," Gray said. "I got the Pączki's, but I got the Lemon Lovers."
Gray said the experience might become a new family tradition.
"It's like oh my god, there's something new we can bring into our fat tuesdays within our family," Gray said.
Regular customer Olivia Prichard also pre-ordered her treats.
"Everyone was talking about the items for Fat Tuesday, the Pączki's, and I thought you know what, better get some of those too, so again sharing with family and friends today," Prichard said.
To meet the demand, Augustine said it was a team effort with the work crew and his wife Beth, who worked over 24 hours straight to prepare dough and fillings from scratch.
"She spent a whole day, over 24 hours straight here the last day, just getting the dough ready, getting the fillings ready, you know, when you do everything from scratch, it takes a lot longer than getting things out of a box or bucket," Augustine said.
Despite the demanding schedule, Augustine said seeing the community response made the effort worthwhile.
"Oh it's just great to see the community come in and see a lot of familiar faces," Augustine said.
Gray encouraged other neighbors to visit before supplies run out.
"I would just say, enjoy the day, try and get as many sweet treats as you can and the kings cakes and Packis, just enjoy your family today and Fat Tuesday," Gray said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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