It seems as though Puffies Donuts has closed permanently for business.
Puffies was one of the oldest doughnut stores in Sydney – perhaps even the oldest. They were located in Roselands for over 50 years. Their pineapple doughnut was legendary and one of the best replicas of a 1970s-style pineapple doughnut.
I had written a couple of reviews of their doughnuts here on DomNuts:
Mini Doughnuts
Pineapple Doughnut
When Roselands underwent major renovations in 2018, the Puffies store closed. It seemed that they did not intend renewing the lease because they immediately set up an online store. I don’t know the story – whether not being part of the renovated shopping centre was their choice or the landlord’s. Perhaps Puffies wasn’t seen as fitting in with the new vision.
This is from the website of the co-owners, Vicinity Centres when the renovations were first announced:
Carolyn Viney, Executive General Manager Development said: “Our vision is to create The New Roselands, a contemporary mall space flanked by leading food retail which will transform the existing dated centre into a culinary destination offering a convenient and authentic fresh food experience inspired by our local community.”
However, this was also in print at the time – the person quoted is Leigh Galvin, Roselands Centre Manager:
Roselands was Australia’s first enclosed shopping centre and many of the food retailers have been there for more than 25 to 30 years.
Mr Galvin (said) this tradition and loyalty will be a feature of the multi-million dollar refurbishment.
The two extracts seem to conflict – one being that they are going to get rid of the old and bring in the new, while the other says the old is a big part of the new. It clearly wasn’t for Puffies. They left Roselands for good and set up an online business.
Puffies was active on social media, spruiking their famous pineapple doughnuts and cinnamon scrolls, as well as their many other options. They offered delivery.
But it seems as though the struggle to maintain a customer base online for basic doughnuts was too great. I don’t know if they explored the logical option of supplying cafes and takeaway joints, but if they did, sadly it didn’t work.
Now, if you search for Puffies online you won’t find much. The website is unavailable and their social media presence is not just inactive, it has been deactivated.
Pretty much the only thing you’ll find are old reviews on DomNuts and on unreliable and less relevant review sites.
Puffies had a strong and loyal following while they were at Roselands, but it seemed that it couldn’t translate to online ordering. If anyone reading this knows more and can add to the story, I’d love to hear from you.
DomNuts 