Photo by George Mahe
Strange Donuts’ flagship location in Maplewood
It was a strange weekend for Jason Bockman, co-founder of Strange Donuts, the doughnut juggernaut with locations in Maplewood, Kirkwood, and Creve Coeur.
Since opening nearly a decade ago, in 2013, the local doughnut chain has become known for its creativity with “dones,” as it calls them, its collaborations with local restaurants, and its whimsically named one-off specials, such as the banana cream–stuffed Fat Elvis.
Last Friday, Strange Donuts posted about a new special, dubbed the Biggest Bart's Revenge, made with Butterfinger buttercream and crumbles. The post read, in part, "If you have a peanut allergy this is your ticket off the planet."
The backlash on social media came quickly, running the gamut from parents with children who have died from food allergies to reactions from those who simply thought the satire was in poor taste. Many asked that Strange Donuts remove the post. The uproar continued on Yelp, where more than a dozen reviewers with out-of-town addresses rated the doughnut shop with one star, the minimum number allowable. The backlash continued on Saturday morning on a post Bockman published about a cinnamon roll.
Then, on Sunday morning, FOX 2 ran a story about a recent Feast and Field article that named Strange Donuts one of the “Top 25 donut shops in the U.S.”, according to a readers’ choice poll. The post fanned the repercussive flames, despite the article noting that Strange was “voted Best Donuts in St. Louis six years running…and has a philanthropy arm, Strange Cares, a nonprofit meant to empower kids’ lives with help from partners Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Children’s Heart Foundation, and Girls on the Run.” As the weekend waned, some supporters began to weigh in on social media as well.
Reached for comment this weekend, Bockman—who's owned the shop outright since 2016 and also owns World’s Fair Donuts, which he bought in late 2019—replied: “If you read what I wrote, I was simply describing the donut in a satirical way. I’m sorry that the joke didn’t resonate with some people, but that’s me. I’m not making fun of allergies in any way. I’m sorry that some people, after reading the words, deduced that I wanted their children to commit suicide. I read it again and again and can’t believe that’s what some people thought.
"I can sympathize with dealing with life-threatening illnesses because one of my kids had an allergic reaction that put him in the hospital," Bockman continued. "At that point, I realized my son could die. However, this isn’t that. I’m not wishing ill on allergic people or anyone else.
"There is so much going on in the world, and so many places to eat and to get donuts. I cannot believe how judgmental, self-righteous, and angry our society has become in the last few years. When you attack creativity, you end up homogenizing society. Individuality and expression get quashed. So when people tell me, ‘Do this or else,’ I listen, in this case because I’m the parent of a kid with allergies. So I understand parents who say, 'I am afraid of this every day and you just made fun of it,’ but that’s not where I was coming from and not how it reads. That’s how what has become a no-win situation was perceived. If I take the post down, it wouldn’t have been fast enough; if I apologize, it’s not sincere enough. I’m just sad that this is where we are.”
