Heav’nly Donuts celebrates 50 sweet years!

By Alison Colby-Campbell
MethuenLife Writer

By habit, George Saragas gets up at 3am; he doesn’t need much sleep. He rolls out of the warm bed, dresses, then drives in darkness a half-mile to 126 Merrimack St. After a cup of coffee, he gets to work.

The shop is left in pristine condition from the night before by employees who take pride in their work. George helps with the opening process, greets the morning crew, then engages with hundreds of customers. This is retirement for George Saragas, who founded Heav’nly Donuts 50 years ago with his wife Elaine. The arduous schedule is mitigated now that the next generation is at the helm as George carves out more time to travel to the islands, Florida and his beloved Greece, but home base is always Heav’nly.

“I don’t make the decisions now, but I help out however I can. My kids (Jimmy Saragas) and (Effie Kombouras) run the show now,” says George, immediately recognizable by his wide smile and full head of white hair.

George and Elaine emigrated to the United States from Greece in the late-1960s and began working at a donut shop. Elaine worked the counter and George learned how to make donuts.

A real-estate consultant who came in and saw how hard George worked encouraged him to strike out on his own. He knew of an ideal location in Methuen: the former Mister Donut’s space located right off I-495 and in “the Valley” section of Methuen. George and Elaine borrowed money from family and friends bought it in 1975. Together they spent long hours building a donut empire that would support multiple generations of family, as well as his brother’s and sister’s families. Brother Pat Saragas opened the Bradford location and his sister Effie Badas has shops in Connecticut.

From that first shop blossomed 16 locations that extend north to Brentwood, N.H., and south to Wilmington. There are now 35 varieties of donuts and 15 flavors of fresh-brewed coffees (no added syrups). Don’t forget about specialty breakfast and lunch sandwiches (like Apple Maple Chicken Sausage on your choice of bagel, English muffin or croissant); a wide array of pastries, squares and turnovers; gourmet snacks like fruit and yogurt cups; and refreshing beverages including chai tea and frozen drinks. The menu changes along with the seasons!
George explained that “the secrets to our success are the best ingredients. We cut all our donuts by hand and use real eggs for our sandwiches, respect and good pay for our employees, of course treating the customers well and making smart investments in real estate.”

Daughter Effie added “The business means everything to us! Everything we have accomplished in life we did it because of this business.”

Children know George as the man who gives them donut holes, a habit he still embraces. He has watched them become parents and grandparents and still return to the shop with little ones in tow. He may not recognize them all as they’ve grown older, but they recognize him. He recounted a recent story where a woman came in with her family and when he handed the child a donut hole she said, “That’s just what you did for me all those years ago. I always remembered that.”

Son Jimmy was born shortly after the donut shop opened up in 1976 and said that over the last 50 years, Heav’nly Donuts remains most thankful for the customers. He notes, “Each store has its regulars, some go from store to store and let me know how the others are performing. We can’t stress how appreciative we are to all those that support us.”

Customer Linda Piantigini has been coming to the Merrimack Street Heav’nly for over 40 years. As kids, they’d come every day. The shop used to stay open until 10pm, so it was the social center for a lot of emerging adults.

“Did you see that group of guys on motorcycles that just left?” she asks. “They’re in their 80s now and instead of coming at 10 at night, they show up at 10 in the morning. I remember hanging out here hoping to talk to them and the classic car guys, too.”

Piantigini referred to George as a good man and described a few of the acts of kindness that she and others have experienced from George and his team. When a customer lost a parent, George – without being asked and without any fanfare – delivered a full array of coffee and donuts to them. Another time, when one of Linda’s friends hit a rough patch and had nowhere to park his truck, she mentioned it in passing to George who said, “He can park here,” though he’d never met the man.

The kindness and sense of family is the philosophy of Heav’nly Donuts. When Torry Sciacca walked into the shop, the woman at the counter shouted out a greeting and his regular order before he said a word. As he approached, she lowered her voice to privately ask after his wife who had a recent medical issue. When asked how long he’d been a customer, Sciacca said he’s pretty sure he “came over on the Mayflower looking for one of their donuts.”

Saragas raised his family in the shop. Since childhood, Jimmy and Effie have worked long hours and pitched in to help out wherever needed. They share their parents’ work ethic and understand the importance of a good and reliable staff because they’ve done all the same jobs. The employees, for their part, respond to their respect.

George said, “When the donut cases are first stocked, it’s like artwork. You don’t want to touch them, they’re put together so beautifully. Our people really take pride in their work. The kitchen is always clean, the important stock is laid out for the next shift. And they stay with us for decades.”
George posed with staff members and asked each of them to reveal how long they have worked there: Lisa White, 30 years; Jessica Jones, 27 years; Tasha Bodah, 24 years; Manny Morales, 17 years; and Roberto Gueren, 14 years. At 5 years, Nelson Mercado is a newcomer, as is the most recent hire – Nico Lopez – who came on board about 3 months ago.
On a recent visit to the Bradford shop, Patroklos “Pat” Saragas was surrounded by his wife Vasso, son Dimitrios and daughter also Effie (it’s Greek tradition to name daughters after their grandmother). He provided insight into the role this coffee shop has played in the family’s life.
“What George did made a life for all of us. It’s our whole life, our second home. It means our children have the opportunity to go to college. It means a family of customers where we know their names and orders. We came to a great country and made a wonderful life for ourselves and we can give back to the community because of George.”
Back at the Merrimack Street location, six members of a golf league have been stopping in every Wednesday for five years – Ted Fairburn, Wally Neal, John Delandy, Dave Bodenrader, Tim Lannan and Vin Greco. When asked how they decided to meet here, Bodenrader explained, “It is centrally located, the prices are reasonable, the donuts exceptional, and the staff is wonderful, very accommodating even if we just get a coffee.”

Fairburn added, “You need to understand, most of us grew up in, lived or worked in Methuen, so Heav’nly has been part of our lives for decades. This is home for many of us.”

A man at a neighboring table, who preferred to remain anonymous, contested their right to be called “regulars.”

“I’ve only seen those guys a couple of times. The real regulars show up at 7am nearly every day and come back at 1pm for more,” he said.
The next generation is carefully planning for expansions, but will keep an eye on ensuring that all the right things – like good staff, quality ingredients and a welcoming atmosphere – remain the same. Afterall, they learned from the best.