Mrs. Johnson's Bakery, beloved historic Austin doughnut shop, is back
With more than seven of decades of history, Mrs. Johnson's Bakery has long been a favorite among Austinites and University of Texas students, whose late-night cravings for doughnuts drove them to the North Austin shop's drive-thru window. Last year, fans were worried the iconic shop was closed for good.
The Airport Boulevard bakery was shut down for a year, but its closure led a change in leadership and some remodeling. Local restaurateurs Tyson and Graciela "Cherry" Blankemeyer are the new owners of Mrs. Johnson's, and they reopened the bakery's doors in November with a new look and the same classic offerings.
The Blankemeyers, who also own 24-hour taco spot Tyson's Tacos next door, bought the bakery at 4909 Airport Blvd. after Greg and Sarah Patel, the most recent owners, decided to step away from the shop in 2021.
With the Patels looking to hand over the keys to the bakery, the Blankemeyers jumped at the opportunity. It was a full-circle moment for the couple, whose memories of the bakery go back to 2012.
As they prepared to open Tyson’s Tacos a decade ago, they often stopped by the donut shop to cap off a hard day of labor.
“When we started working on the restaurant, me and my husband would paint and do everything. Then, we would get on the roof, grab a beer and smell the donuts. The prize was to go get some warm donuts," Graciela Blankemeyer said.
Even when Tyson’s Tacos became a fixture of its own, the Blankemeyers' admiration for the next-door bakery never wavered. And with the droves of fans that have visited the bakery since its soft reopening, they're reminded that their love for Mrs. Johnson's is part of a bigger cult-like following.
New owners make their mark while honoring bakery’s legacy
Since taking ownership in 2021, the Blankemeyers and operations manager James Diaz have remodeled the inside of the storefront, purchased a replica of the bakery's original sign (it now reads "Mrs. Johnson's Hot Donuts" in neon) and added a few sprinkles of nuance to its business model.
Gone are the decades-old machines and baking supplies of the past. The shop's kitchen is now filled with modern equipment to speed up the process of making its signature fried dough rings. The new owners also cut down the shop's more ambitious doughnut options, like the coconut flavor and those coated in cereal, while putting their twist on some fan favorites.
“Being able to honor most of the old menu but still change a couple of things and add our own little flair to it is nice," Diaz said. "Luckily, our clientele is open to it. They still want to see the classics, and they'll still wait an hour for the dozen glazed donuts they want, but they are receptive to the new things we have to offer."
A focus on the bakery side of the brand
Most of the pastries will be crafted with the same products, vendors and recipes that the Patel family used. And with new pies, muffins, cupcakes, tarts and other baked treasures in the works, Diaz said there will be more of an emphasis on the baking side of the brand with head baker Ethan Shedenhelm at the helm.
While ambitions are high, Graciela Blankemeyer said future plans for the shop will be on standby until regular operations are in full swing. Much of their work will be reestablishing the bakery’s brand and creating pastries that live up to the shop’s reputation.
“We want to keep our options open, but first, let's do this right," she said. "(Mrs. Johnson's) is valuable, and we respect it and want to honor it."
Patrons reflect on memories of Mrs. Johnson’s
Mrs. Johnson's Bakery has a long legacy in Austin, with few generational peers, and their baked goods could once be found all over the city at multiple locations. The bakery's sign and website tout 1948 as its founding year. According to a 1957 article in the Austin American, Mrs. Johnson's Bakery started wholesale and retail business in 1951, owned by Howard E. Johnson and Howard C. Striegler. A February 1957 ad in the Austin American mentions that Mrs. Johnson's Donut Shop at 4909 Airport Boulevard opened in 1956, with over 4 million doughnuts sold that year.
The bakery is one of the last remaining staples of Airport Boulevard, a street that boasted local favorites like Stallion Grill, Burger Tex, I Luv Video and others that stretched from the 4900 to the 5600 block.
When Austin native Linda Hyslop thinks about Mrs. Johnson’s Bakery — often called Mrs. J's by fans — the summer days she spent with her great-aunt ring loudly in her mind.
Hyslop’s aunt wasn’t much of a cook, so a night spent at Aunt Pearl’s meant she and her brother ate at a local burger joint for dinner and Mrs. Johnson’s for dessert and breakfast the next day.
While those summers were more than 50 years ago, the glazed, chocolate-covered and lemon-filled donuts she shared with her great-aunt were some of the best moments of her childhood. She hasn't been back to Mrs. Johnson’s much since Aunt Pearl died years ago, but knowing the bakery is still standing is something special, she said.
“That makes my heart happy that it’s still there,” Hyslop said. “I’ve watched so many things disappear over the years, so to have something truly local back, it’s a beautiful thing.”
As a graduate student at UT, Sean Malin gathered whatever change he could find during his shift at the Perry-Castañeda Library. For about a year, a 24-ounce coffee and three donuts from Mrs. Johnson’s were what he called dinner.
The "hardy gooeyness" of the shop’s maple bars carried Malin over after a full day of classes and a long night of studying. He wandered almost daily to Mrs. Johnson's with a plastic bag full of quarters in his pocket. After a while, one of the workers started slipping free glazed donuts in with his orders.
As a lover of simple, down-home donuts, Malin said Mrs. Johnson’s closure was a bad time for the local food scene. But with the bakery’s return, he's hopeful.
"When it closed down, it seemed like the emblem of everything going wrong in Austin at that time," Malin said. "Not only from COVID-19, but with all of the great longstanding eateries going down. So to hear that it's back gives me a very optimistic feeling.
"I'm going to describe myself as cautiously optimistic. If you ever saw a movie, you know reboots are tough. And rebooting a restaurant is a challenge, especially if it's new ownership. I liked the old ownership, so we'll see and I'll go."
Patrons new and old are supporting the donut shop’s opening
Diaz saw Mrs. Johnson's as the ultimate donut shop in his youth. As a kid, he and his family would drive to the bakery and pick out their favorite delights, a feeling he said few places in the city could duplicate.
There's a lot of pressure that comes with carrying on the legacy of such a historic site, but Diaz is confident he and the Blankemeyers will uphold the standard set by the bakery's past owners.
"I can't let this thing fail," he said. "This has been around for so long, and it's one of the few things that's still 'Austin.' We have to kick and scream and fight to ensure this keeps going, because the reputation is huge.”
Mrs. Johnson's hasn't held a public grand reopening yet. News of the bakery's quiet revival recently broke when a customer took a picture of the neon sign and posted it on Facebook. Within a few hours, Diaz said, the post was shared 600 times, and a line of cars nearly stretched into Airport Boulevard traffic for about six hours.
“The fact that it took one picture for a couple of hundred people to show up on that night speaks volumes to everything about this place and how we can continue to serve people nice, warm donuts while putting a smile on their faces," Diaz said.
In the weeks the bakery has been open, Diaz said there's been a steady flow of customers, with many traveling from Buda, Kyle, Manor, Round Rock and as far as Waco to grab a fresh pastry. He even received a message from a patron looking to have some donuts shipped to Missouri.
“We're fortunate that our customers are willing to make the trip," Diaz said. "It's a little adventure when you drive 30 or 45 minutes to get doughnuts, and I think that speaks volumes to the reputation that we have and for the shoes that we have to fill. We're doing our best to meet the standard.”
Mrs. Johnson’s will return to 24-hour service soon
The bakery is currently open from 7 p.m. to 9 a.m. Thursday-Sunday, but once more equipment and staff are in place, the shop plans to return to a seven-day, 24-hour schedule.
Beyond the extended hours and menu items, Graciela Blankemeyer said the goal is to continue the legacy of the Austin staple for years to come.
"I feel like there's something beautiful about meeting people and giving them a good memory or good flavors with happiness," she said. "And that's why we're trying to be very careful and humble, and we feel great honor to be able to do it."