Coffee Shop On Woodward 1960's-70's?

highjinx · March-11-12, 01:29 PM

A question has come up amongst friends.

Was there a coffee shop on Woodward near Hudson's [or that general area thereabouts] in the 60's-70's, that had an animated neon sign that illustrated a hand dunking a doughnut into a coffee cup?
If so, where was it and what was it called?
Thanks for any assistance.

**gazhekwe** · March-11-12, 01:59 PM

Qwikee Donuts. It was over a block, I think, on Griswold and Michigan. Well, there were several locations.

**gazhekwe** · March-11-12, 02:01 PM

One of my friends from the old neighborhood [[I think he lived on Manor) told how woke up about 6 o'clock, nice and early, and he went downtown to Qwikee and ordered a nice breakfast to eat while he planned his day. Turns out, it was evening, not morning. Those were the days, my friend.

**EastsideAl** · March-11-12, 02:08 PM

The big Qwikee Donuts, which was on State & Griswold across from Capitol Park, was THE hangout for a few generations of Cass Tech students. A convenient [[and warm) place to "wait" for the bus home - for an hour or two.

There were several of them downtown, actually. Including some smaller ones just off the lobbies of big office buildings.

**douglasm** · March-11-12, 02:37 PM

My mind wants to tell me that Quickie was on State between Griswold and Woodward. Memory also says a coffee run would consist of ducking out the back door of the shoe store [[Mary Jane or National Shoe), north down the alley to State, then only a storefront or two up state towards Griswold.

Speaking of coffee shops, where exactly was The Mayflower on Woodward?

highjinx · March-11-12, 11:18 PM

LMAO! Oh Yes they were.

**DorothyD** · March-12-12, 08:39 AM

Qwikee Donuts was on the southwest corner of State and Griswold. I would stop in every morning to get my lemon filled donut and coffee and a tuna sandwich to take for lunch. It was across from the David Stott Building, in which there was an Awrey's Bakery.

The Mayflower coffee shop was on Woodward right next to the Wright-Kay Building. I seem to remember it being a narrow place but went far back with booths. I can't remember if there was a counter at the front because we always headed right for the back to eat.

**MidTownMs** · March-12-12, 09:00 AM

Originally Posted by DorothyD

Qwikee Donuts was on the southwest corner of State and Griswold. I would stop in every morning to get my lemon filled donut and coffee and a tuna sandwich to take for lunch. It was across from the David Stott Building, in which there was an Awrey's Bakery.

The Mayflower coffee shop was on Woodward right next to the Wright-Kay Building. I seem to remember it being a narrow place but went far back with booths. I can't remember if there was a counter at the front because we always headed right for the back to eat.

Here's a picture of the Mayflower .

Name: MAYFLOWER.jpg
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**Wheels** · March-12-12, 12:17 PM

Qwikee at State and Griswold.

Attachment 12284

**douglasm** · March-12-12, 01:30 PM

The Mayflower had a counter on the north side of the shop. What always got my quarter was the jukebox style boxes on the counter that for your token of appreciation did not play records, but had preset buttons for local radio stations.

highjinx · March-13-12, 09:55 PM

Still searching for the neon sign of the hand dunking the doughnut into the coffee cup?

**pancakelover** · January-21-15, 07:57 PM

I will be 72 years old this summer [[2015). That means that I was 7 years old in the summer of 1950 and 17 in the summer of 1960. During those years my mom took me shopping downtown many times, and towards the end of those years I spent time downtown with friends going to movies, shopping at Hudson's book shop, etc. And every trip downtown included a visit to one of the Quickee "Donut Shops." Actually they were officially called Quickee Sandwich Shops" and there were a string of at least six of them. Most of the posters on this thread recall just one of them--probably the one they patronized--but in fact there were at least six and possibly seven or eight. It is true that there was one at the southwest corner of State and Griswold. But the one with the neon hand dipping a donut in and out of a cup of coffee--complete with similated steam rising from the cup--was on Grand River between Woodward and Griswold, meaning that it was not actually on Woodward Avenue but very close to it, and just a stone's throw from Hudson's front doors on Woodward. You stepped out of Hudson's on the Woodward side [[or the Grand River side) and walked to the corner of Woodward and Grand River. After the clanging streetcar on Woodward went by and your light turned green, you crossed Woodward and kept walking west and there you were, under the big hand dipping the neon donut into the giant cup.

The Quickee shops were famous for their delicious donuts, of course, but they also served sandwiches and soups. The soups probably changed day by day--I'm sure there were things like pea soup and bean soup in the winter and lighter things in the summer--but they had dynamite chili all year and all the soups were served in heavy crockery bowls. Even as a teen ager I wasn't into coffee, but I always had a mug of their hot chocolate, also served in heavy crockery mugs. No plastic or paper cups and bowls back then, and the spoons were steel, not plastic. The sandwiches, of course, were nothing like the modern deli-type sandwiches we expect now. They were traditional American sandwiches on plain white or whole wheat "Wonder Bread" cut diagonally and wrapped in Saran, but they were cheap. 25 cents for peanut butter and jelly, 35 for tuna salad, and you dropped 45 or 50 for something luxurious like ham and cheese or turkey. And those delicious donuts were huge and freshly made and I remember the price: 7 cents for one donut, and 70 cents for a dozen. Such a deal! And the price never changed--there was no inflation during the 1950s. I suppose the prices went up later but after about 1961 [[the year I went away to college) I probably never went downtown in Detroit again, so I don't know what happened after that.

The box that you carried your dozen donuts home in listed the locations and that's how I remember that there were at least 6 and maybe more downtown. In addition to the one on State at Griswold, believe it or not there was another one just a couple of blocks west on State--I think it was at the corner of Times Square. As teenagers my friends and I went downtown on the Grand River trolley bus, which went down Cass for a couple of blocks, then turned left onto State. We got off the bus there and we were right in front of a Quickee Shop and at that location they actually fried the donuts in the front window so you could watch as you stood on the sidewalk. A young fellow used a great big vat that was suspended from the ceiling, and he squeezed a trigger every couple of seconds to let a ring of batter drop from the thing into hot grease, and a mechanical device kept the donuts slowly moving down a sort of river of hot grease till it reached the end [[about 6 feet away) and another mechanical device turned the donut over and let it move around a corner and return to a place near the fellow, and he scooped the finished donuts out of the grease into a wire basket which another employee collected a few minutes later.

In addition to the two Quickees on State Street and the one on Grand River near Woodward, there were at least three others. There was certainly one further down Griswold in the financial district, maybe around Fort Street, and there was probably one on Broadway near Broadway Market, and probably one on Farmer near Cadillac Square.

Those donuts were the best, and they were big! Some were jelly-filled, others were custard-filled, but the custard-filled ones were only in the winter [[summer heat was too dangerous--they might spoil and make people sick), so if you asked for custard filled donuts in the summer they said "Never in the summer." My favorites were the chocolate frosted fried cakes. By the way, in those days everybody knew the difference between "fried cakes" and "donuts." Authentic donuts were made from yeast dough that rose like bread dough and, after rising, it was fried in hot fat. The resulting donut was light and fluffy and it "tore" when you put stress on it. The "fried cakes" were not a yeast dough that rose. It was just a thick cake batter containing baking powder or soda and it was extruded from a device like the one described above, dropping a ring of dough into the hot fat. Most of the "yeast donuts" were simply glazed, but it was that dough that was used for the jelly-filled and custard-filled ones. The "fried cakes" were more popular and those were either plain, or powdered sugared or cinnamon sugared or plain sugared or iced in different flavors [[chocolate, vanilla, cherry, orange etc.) or glazed and dipped in chopped nuts. My mouth waters when I think of them!

**softailrider** · January-21-15, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by pancakelover

I will be 72 years old this summer [[2015). That means that I was 7 years old in the summer of 1950 and 17 in the summer of 1960. During those years my mom took me shopping downtown many times, and towards the end of those years I spent time downtown with friends going to movies, shopping at Hudson's book shop, etc. And every trip downtown included a visit to one of the Quickee "Donut Shops." Actually they were officially called Quickee Sandwich Shops" and there were a string of at least six of them. Most of the posters on this thread recall just one of them--probably the one they patronized--but in fact there were at least six and possibly seven or eight. It is true that there was one at the southwest corner of State and Griswold. But the one with the neon hand dipping a donut in and out of a cup of coffee--complete with similated steam rising from the cup--was on Grand River between Woodward and Griswold, meaning that it was not actually on Woodward Avenue but very close to it, and just a stone's throw from Hudson's front doors on Woodward. You stepped out of Hudson's on the Woodward side [[or the Grand River side) and walked to the corner of Woodward and Grand River. After the clanging streetcar on Woodward went by and your light turned green, you crossed Woodward and kept walking west and there you were, under the big hand dipping the neon donut into the giant cup.

The Quickee shops were famous for their delicious donuts, of course, but they also served sandwiches and soups. The soups probably changed day by day--I'm sure there were things like pea soup and bean soup in the winter and lighter things in the summer--but they had dynamite chili all year and all the soups were served in heavy crockery bowls. Even as a teen ager I wasn't into coffee, but I always had a mug of their hot chocolate, also served in heavy crockery mugs. No plastic or paper cups and bowls back then, and the spoons were steel, not plastic. The sandwiches, of course, were nothing like the modern deli-type sandwiches we expect now. They were traditional American sandwiches on plain white or whole wheat "Wonder Bread" cut diagonally and wrapped in Saran, but they were cheap. 25 cents for peanut butter and jelly, 35 for tuna salad, and you dropped 45 or 50 for something luxurious like ham and cheese or turkey. And those delicious donuts were huge and freshly made and I remember the price: 7 cents for one donut, and 70 cents for a dozen. Such a deal! And the price never changed--there was no inflation during the 1950s. I suppose the prices went up later but after about 1961 [[the year I went away to college) I probably never went downtown in Detroit again, so I don't know what happened after that.

The box that you carried your dozen donuts home in listed the locations and that's how I remember that there were at least 6 and maybe more downtown. In addition to the one on State at Griswold, believe it or not there was another one just a couple of blocks west on State--I think it was at the corner of Times Square. As teenagers my friends and I went downtown on the Grand River trolley bus, which went down Cass for a couple of blocks, then turned left onto State. We got off the bus there and we were right in front of a Quickee Shop and at that location they actually fried the donuts in the front window so you could watch as you stood on the sidewalk. A young fellow used a great big vat that was suspended from the ceiling, and he squeezed a trigger every couple of seconds to let a ring of batter drop from the thing into hot grease, and a mechanical device kept the donuts slowly moving down a sort of river of hot grease till it reached the end [[about 6 feet away) and another mechanical device turned the donut over and let it move around a corner and return to a place near the fellow, and he scooped the finished donuts out of the grease into a wire basket which another employee collected a few minutes later.

In addition to the two Quickees on State Street and the one on Grand River near Woodward, there were at least three others. There was certainly one further down Griswold in the financial district, maybe around Fort Street, and there was probably one on Broadway near Broadway Market, and probably one on Farmer near Cadillac Square.

Those donuts were the best, and they were big! Some were jelly-filled, others were custard-filled, but the custard-filled ones were only in the winter [[summer heat was too dangerous--they might spoil and make people sick), so if you asked for custard filled donuts in the summer they said "Never in the summer." My favorites were the chocolate frosted fried cakes. By the way, in those days everybody knew the difference between "fried cakes" and "donuts." Authentic donuts were made from yeast dough that rose like bread dough and, after rising, it was fried in hot fat. The resulting donut was light and fluffy and it "tore" when you put stress on it. The "fried cakes" were not a yeast dough that rose. It was just a thick cake batter containing baking powder or soda and it was extruded from a device like the one described above, dropping a ring of dough into the hot fat. Most of the "yeast donuts" were simply glazed, but it was that dough that was used for the jelly-filled and custard-filled ones. The "fried cakes" were more popular and those were either plain, or powdered sugared or cinnamon sugared or plain sugared or iced in different flavors [[chocolate, vanilla, cherry, orange etc.) or glazed and dipped in chopped nuts. My mouth waters when I think of them!

I quit eating donuts 15 months ago. I really didn't need to read that!

**mikefmich** · January-21-15, 09:03 PM

softrailrider
Nice welcome for a first time poster. :/

How about nice warm apple fritter? I'll leave a bag on your doorstep.

Excellent post pancake. Welcome aboard!

**Maof** · January-21-15, 09:58 PM

Originally Posted by softailrider

I quit eating donuts 15 months ago. I really didn't need to read that!

I thought it was a nice read! Sure made me crave a donut and a hot cup of coffee.

**Lowell** · January-21-15, 10:13 PM

Welcome to the forum pancakelover. What great first post and piece of Detroit history! I saw the very end of the bustling sidewalk-filled old downtown and now am getting to see the other emerging but very different downtown.

**detroitbob** · January-21-15, 10:34 PM

The sign was on the Quickee Coffee Shop on the south side of Grand River between Woodward and Griswold in the building that was purchased by Chinese interests last year. The upper floors were [[are) loft apartments.

**Elevator Fan** · January-21-15, 11:00 PM

There has been a Qwikee Cafeteria in an office building in Troy at 3250 W. Big Beaver for decades. Same outfit?

**canuck** · January-21-15, 11:46 PM

What a great post.
Thank you for the warm reminiscence.

**ct_alum** · January-22-15, 05:43 AM

Pancakelover, You are correct, I used to stop at the Grand River store evey morning on my way to Cass. Took the Jefferson bus from Jefferson & Ashland all the way downtown and walked up Woodward to Grand River and then cut over on Second to school. Always got the chocolate frosted fried cake and a ham & cheese sandwhich. Can still taste them, and that was 1969-71. Thanks for reminding me.

**Blueidone** · January-22-15, 08:23 AM

I was lucky enough to work in the Lafayette Building, where there was a Quickee Donut Shop in the lobby! Hot cinnamon rolls and coffee almost every morning was one of the treats of working downtown!

**stasu1213** · January-22-15, 10:24 AM

Would another donut shop be successful on woodward in downtown Detroit?

**pancakelover** · January-22-15, 11:23 AM

I doubt it. Donuts are pretty much a thing of the past--fattening, you know. Just my opinion.

**pancakelover** · January-22-15, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by ct_alum

Pancakelover, You are correct, I used to stop at the Grand River store evey morning on my way to Cass. Took the Jefferson bus from Jefferson & Ashland all the way downtown and walked up Woodward to Grand River and then cut over on Second to school. Always got the chocolate frosted fried cake and a ham & cheese sandwhich. Can still taste them, and that was 1969-71. Thanks for reminding me.

ct alum: You must have enjoyed walking to walk from the Quickee on Grand River all the way to Cass Tech. If it were me I would have gotten a transfer from the driver on the Jefferson bus, picked up the doughnut and sandwich, then grabbed a Hamilton bus on Woodward which would have dropped me right at Cass. By then the sandwich and donut would have been eaten.

**9606 Prest** · January-22-15, 11:39 AM

In the early 1970s I worked in the Park Avenue Bldg. on Park & Adams in downtown. There was a Qwikee Donut shop right there on Park street. It was very popular with residents of the Tuller Hotel, which was once a classic hotel but fell into disrepair and was shuttered in 1976 after having been a low-end, extended-stay property. The city of Detroit deemed this building beyond repair, demolished it in 1992, and the site has remained a gravel parking lot ever since. I'm not sure when that Qwikee Donut shop in that area closed!