Before the rest of Madison is even awake, Greenbush Bakery is already serving delicious donuts and pastries.
Contributing to the community for three decades, Greenbush Bakery stands proudly on Regent Street. Madisonians are drawn to the shop’s mom-and-pop charm and the scent of doughy goodness that hits their noses the moment they step inside.
“Now here is how you know this is a real bakery with the best ingredient: it smells so good when you walk in, you wanna eat the air,” wrote one reviewer on Yelp.
Owner Taylor Carlson took the baton from the late former owner, Marv “Dount Man” Miller, his grandfather, who started this Madison staple with his wife, Barb, back in March 1996, 30 years ago.
Over the years Greenbush Bakery has been in operation, there have been changes and transitions but the tradition of its being a warm and welcoming stop along the way to a football game, classes or just passing through the city is alive and well. Greenbush has prospered over the years by adopting new advertising strategies, relocating and opening new storefronts in the Madison area, as well as adapting to changes in management. Its commitment to its customers and the neighborhood is baked into the heart of Marv’s hand-built community.
The Donut Man himself was an entrepreneur and pioneer of his time for his family. After serving in the Navy, Miller worked a variety of jobs, selling insurance, working at Oscar Meyer and even being a machinist at Gisholt.
With that range of experience, taking the leap to get into the bakery industry with no prior experience didn’t hinder him. At age 54, Miller bought a rundown bakery on 1305 Regent St. which kickstarted the brand we know today.
The selling point of the bakery was Miller himself. Madison natives, who have been lifelong customers, reminisce about the late owner and hour-long conversations with him outside the bakery. Miller’s commitment to customers was the driving achievement towards the bakery in Greenbush, and why it’s been able to stand proudly as a staple in the city for as long as it has.
“I think that was a huge part of our success,” Carlson said.
Carlson went to UW–Stevens Point where he studied business, but he came back to his grandfather’s bakery to work every summer and during breaks from school. He said it was a “no-brainer” for him to take on the family legacy after his time in college.
Carlson opened another location on Madison’s east side nine years ago and has expanded the company to a total of 40 employees.
“I learned more from him in my first year or second being a full-time employee than in my five years of school,” Carlson said. “It was more experience than it was just learning. A textbook can’t teach you if a fryer is not working, if a donut depositor is not working. You kind of have to get immersed into it, figure it out.”
The bakery’s name comes from the Greenbush neighborhood, where the bakery resides. The Greenbush neighborhood is known for its tight-knit,melting-pot lifestyle. With large populations of Italian, German, Jewish and African American immigrants, the vibrancy of culture is what makes the Greenbush area stand out in a vast city like Madison. The bakery took a step toward building that bridge between company and community by naming its business after it.
“A lot of families that come in have been coming for years; it’s a tradition every Sunday after church, they come in and get donuts or whatever it may be,” Carlson said. “I think that's what it means to be a staple for a city.”
A couple of years after purchasing the bakery, in 1998, the Millers had the brilliant idea, due to a customer’s inquiry, to align themselves with the Jewish community of Dane County by making the bakery a certified kosher operation.
Being a kosher bakery has been its selling and marketing point since then. Carlson recalls Miller saying, “We’re the only kosher bakery between Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Chicago.”
Though others have filled in since that time, it shows how dedicated he was to welcoming all kinds of customers to his store.
“It’s definitely a unique thing about our business. It has to do with the quality, the ingredients that are going into our products,” Carlson said.
Patrons also appreciate Greenbush’s ability to create a seemingly endless array of new pastries. Seven years ago, the bakery moved down Regent Street to its current location a stone’s throw from Camp Randall. Around that time, the bakery started shaping donuts for the holidays. For Valentine’s Day, it offered heart-shaped donuts, then created shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day. Most notably the bakery introduced a “Badger Claw,” a take on a bear claw decorated in red and white for game days.
Since donuts aren’t inextricably linked with certain holidays (the way pumpkin pie is synonymous with Thanksgiving, say), Greenbush consistently looks for creative ways to include the bakery’s donuts and pastries in days of celebration.
As Carlson put it, “It’s not like donuts have their own massive day.” But continuing to develop and expand its arsenal of products to inspire customers has allowed Greenbush to continue to prosper.
"This is my livelihood, and I take a lot of pride in counting the family business,” Carlson said.” I see the same vision my grandpa had and my goal is to continue and only enhance the company — that is the best thing I could possibly do.”
