The morning of March 10 brought the promise of spring, and some unwelcome news for the people of Allston-Brighton: Twin Donuts, a neighborhood mainstay since 1955, will serve the last of its fare on March 23.
For 70 years, Twin Donuts has been an anchor of an establishment. Despite the waves of new students, new architecture and the slow creep of gentrification, the freestanding building at that wedge of an intersection on Cambridge and North Beacon streets was there for anyone longing for nostalgic comfort.
“It’s a sense of home, like one of those places you can go into if you’re cold,” said Allston-Brighton native Kelly McGrath, executive director of Brighton Main Streets. “When you’re a kid, if you get nervous, you could run in there. It’s a place where you feel comfortable. I’m not going to get [a] ‘Happy Friday’ anymore from the young lady that works behind the desk. It’s kind of a bummer.”
William Anthony, owner of Model Cafe across the street, has fond memories Twin Donuts that stretch far beyond being its neighbor.
Anthony’s father once owned a place called Paradise Lounge. When the business began to expand, he moved it across the street to the present site of Model Cafe. Then he rented his old space to George Geskos, a Greek immigrant and a family friend.
“[George] wanted a donut shop, and my father suggested the name Twin Donuts because my brother and I are twins, and we were born in 1953,” explained Anthony. “He took the name, and the gentleman and his son Nick ran it for many, many years.”
Nick Geskos died in 2015, 14 years after ownership passed to a new family, headed by Cambodian refugees Leang Sim Taing and Chiang Sou Pang. With their arrival came a grill and a menu beyond the beloved donuts. The food was straightforward, a culinary aspect much appreciated by Constantine von Hoffman, a managing editor for a tech website and 25-year resident of the neighborhood. He would take his daughter to Twin Donuts several times a month.
“We’ll get together and have lunch on the weekends, when every [other] place else is swamped,” said von Hoffman. “It’s a nice place to just sit and talk. The people are friendly. On the weekends, one of the workers’ daughters is sitting in the corner doing her schoolwork. So it’s got a family vibe, and yet, it’s also got that Allston ‘hey, you’re weird enough to be here’ feel.”
And, of course, questions remain about the outsized, iconic sign that announces Twin Donuts’ presence. Von Hoffman called it the neighborhood’s own “CITGO sign.” And for William Anthony? The sign packs an extra dose of nostalgia.
“It’s sad to see the donut shop go,” he said. “I’d like to buy that sign, but I don’t know where I’d put it.”
A most reasonable wish — after all, he is one of those twins.
