Faron Smith first started baking when he was 8 years old. He made cinnamon rolls, cream puffs and other baked goods.
Fast forward nearly five decades later, The 55-year-old Faron and his wife, Wendy, have opened up their own donuts, sweet shop and more in Sault Ste Marie.
You can see and taste the decades of baking experience in each delicious pastry.
This past Wednesday, Farendy Farms officially unlocked their doors at 1098 E. Portage Avenue in the old Portage Pantry gas station.
Faron spends his nights making the sweet goods while Wendy sleeps. When the doors officially open at 6 a.m., Wendy is there welcoming people in while Faron catches up on his sleep.
Expectations were exceeded on opening day when they sold out of all donuts in a couple of hours.
"We were thinking that we were going to take stuff back home at first. But people just kept coming in," continued Wendy.
"We made seven dozen (84) donuts. We sold them out really quick by 8 a.m. They kicked our butt. Everybody was so excited and supportive," Wendy said.
Thursday, Faron doubled the batch and those sold out by 8:45 a.m.
How did they get to where they are today?
Last year, they started selling baked goods at the Sault Farmer's Market. They would sell a good quantity of them.
"People supported us there at the Farmer's Market so we decided to do something during the winter because we are farmers so we opened this up," explained Wendy.
The Smith's have a poultry farm on Sugar Island.
"We process about 200 chickens a week that we sell at farmer's markets and restaurants, We also sell chicken eggs and duck eggs in our new store," Wendy continued.
Nicole Brunet is a Sugar Island resident and has already stopped twice at Farendy Farms.
"I’ve had Wendy’s stuff before, and she brings the same deliciousness to the store. It’s basically her farmers market booth moved indoors. Can’t wait until she adds her chicken offerings," Brunet said.
Besides donuts, Farendy Farms sells some crafts, coffee, chicken and duck eggs, homemade pies, bread and freeze-dried sweets such as Skittles, Nerds and Fruit Roll-Ups.
The Smiths hope to expand in the future with more items and indoor seating.
Store hours are Monday through Saturday 6 a.m.-2 p.m.
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