Eight Decades In, Van’s Pastry Shoppe Still Delivers
The family-run bakery on Fulton Street thrives on tradition, loyal customers, and pastries that taste like home.
Van’s Pastry Shoppe has been a Grand Rapids institution since the 1940s. The family-owned shop remains a beloved spot for doughnuts, cookies, and community connection on Fulton Street. Owners say it’s the loyal customers and time-tested recipes that keep them going.
Walk into Van’s Pastry Shoppe on Fulton Street and you step into a slice of Grand Rapids history. The family-owned bakery has been turning out doughnuts, cookies, and danishes from the same building since the 1940s. The recipes haven’t changed much, and neither has the steady stream of regulars who’ve made it a morning ritual for generations.
Behind the counter, the work starts early. Staff still mix dough, shape pastries, and glaze treats by hand, using methods passed down through the family. The result is a case full of classics—glazed twists, buttercream-filled long johns, flaky apple turnovers—that taste exactly the way you hope they will. “We don’t chase trends,” one owner recently told a reporter. “We just make what people love.”
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That straightforward approach has kept the shop packed through decades of city change. On any given Saturday, you’ll find kids pressing their noses to the glass and older couples grabbing a box of mixed sweets for Sunday visitors. Van’s isn’t just holding on—it’s thriving, proof that when a business becomes part of the neighborhood’s rhythm, people show up again and again.
