Donuts, the Old Fashioned Way

Bernie and Judy Postuma have spent most of their 52 years together up to their elbows in flour, sugar and sprinkles.

Bernie comes from a long line of bakers dating back to premier bakers in Holland. He continued the family tradition by starting Nebles Bakery in Minneapolis. After 24 years, he moved the business to its present location in Golden Valley and renamed it Valley Pastries.

The business will soon celebrate 25 years in this location, just blocks from the Postuma home.

While their children napped on bags of flour, Bernie and Judy worked long hours to create a mouth-watering, irresistible array of pastries that they sold in a family-friendly atmosphere.

Spend a morning at Valley Pastries, and you’ll see dozens of melt-in-your-mouth cake donuts emerge from the small back kitchen where the magic started at 1 a.m. Every item is made fresh at the bakery using Bernie’s recipes.

With Bernie newly retired, bakers Paul Hanson and Tim Koering begin their shifts when most of the community has gone to bed. Laura, the Postumas’ daughter, joins them at 4 a.m., followed by Irma Salsa at 5 a.m. and Judy Postuma at 7 a.m.

The aroma of freshly baked donuts, glazed twists (created with Bernie’s secret design), cookies and bread fills the pre-dawn hours on a quiet corner in Golden Valley. By 8 a.m. (mid-morning for this bakery crew), regular customers stand alongside newbies for a morning treat.

A number of local organizations depend on the mastery of Bernie and his staff for their own customers and employees. More than a dozen local churches eagerly await the delivery of their Sunday morning pastries. To make that deadline, the bakers have to start as early as 10 p.m. Saturday evening.

Valley Pastries bakes 160 loaves of bread for delivery to a local pizza restaurant on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Bernie says word of mouth has been the best advertising, keeping them busy even through the recession.

When a Thursday morning customer came in for his standing order of several dozen pastries, the women behind the counter were eager to hear how he’s doing, and even noticed he is driving a new car. 

Carla, another longtime customer, said, “Valley Pastries makes the best donuts in the world, and they’ve been around forever.”