Business Spotlight

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Turtle’s Donut Shoppe Offers Sweets, Builds Memories

Owners ready to rise to a new location

Story & Photos Contributed by Carey Head/Staff Writer

For just shy of 60 years, patrons of the donut shop in Crestview Shopping Center have made sweet memories of warm donuts on cold mornings. The retail center at Seventh and Brookfield has housed a bakery in the building’s distinctive curved façade since Roy and Bessie Mae Essary opened Essary’s Donut Shop in 1962.

The Essarys sold their donut business in 1980 and retired.

Since then, the donut makers and bakery names have changed. But, according to Shannon

Schieber, a donut shop in that location has remained a constant. Three generations of Ponca City High School students filed in before practice, before class, before fully awake. Over the years, a book or two for homework has morphed into backpacks often as broad and hefty as the students carrying them. The line of customers waiting their turn often snakes out the door. In 2002, Shannon and husband Jeff purchased the former Mickael’s Bakery-Ponca City business from Jeff’s sister, Mickael “Miss” Schieber Lewis. At the time, Shannon and Jeff were seniors in college and newlyweds. “Miss announced they were moving to Stillwater and we saw it as an opportunity to jump ahead in life,” Shannon says. “If someone had told me this is what I’d be doing when I started college I would have said, ‘I don’t think so!’”

All donuts are made in-house and fresh every day.

“Everything is from scratch,” Shannon says. “Meats for our sandwiches are cooked in-house; soups are homemade.” Shannon and Jeff trade opening the donut shop for each business day. Driving in from their Newkirk farm and ranch operation, the door is unlocked by 3 a.m. to make the day’s donuts. “Jeff and I make the donuts every day. Cake donuts first because there are a variety of flavors. Then we make the other donuts with yeast dough,” Shannon explains. It takes an hour to make one dough with an hour’s rising time for the yeast donuts. After cutting into shapes including bear claws, pinecones, long johns, twists, and cinnamon rolls, the donuts are fried and glazed. Tammy Emery is the donut fryer. Customers see her when she is reloading the case. “She has a heart of gold, that one. Doesn’t know anything but work and work some more,” Shannon smiles. Glen Estes, along with Marsha Glover, work the front. Glen joined the business in 2005. “Glen does the front work and makes the loaves of sandwich and specialty breads. He can do anything that Jeff and I can do.”

Owner Shannon Schieber places shaped mounds of bread dough into loaf pans in preparation for rising.

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Customer Lindsey Mattheisen and Turtle’s team member Marsha Glover work together to get the Mattheisen family’s donut dreams fulfilled in this photo taken February 11.

In the 19 years since they opened Turtle’s Donut Shoppe, extraordinary memories have been created by the Schiebers and their customers.

“We so enjoy our customers,” Shannon smiles. “We had the pleasure of having Roy and Bessie Mae as customers for quite a long time. We’ve always had a group of senior citizens that are very special to us. Stan Wheeler was one of our most loyal customers ever. Came to our donut shop every single day we were open, and he was in town.” Bret Smith, Executive Director of Operations for Ponca City Public Schools, says the district purchased the shopping center in 2008 from the Marilyn Cook Trust. According to Bret, the district purchased the entire property from Fifth to Seventh streets, Overbrook to Comanche. Demolition of the shopping center will make way for improvements to be announced as part of an upcoming bond issue. The Schiebers have leased the bakery space in Crestview Shopping Center since 2002. Although the school district hasn’t asked them to leave, Shannon knows it is necessary.

“We’re not leaving. But we are leaving the space that has been so very special to us.”

Among the popular menu items are (top) Turtle’s Beef and Cheddar sandwich and (bottom) “chicken salad” sandwich. As she reflects on the bakery’s planned move to its new location at 1911 N. Seventh Street, Shannon’s voice softens. “We’re not leaving. But we are leaving the space that has been so very special to us. End of an era in that location is sad to me.” Especially poignant is the memory of eldest son Iden and how he loved helping with this family business. “Our son … stinkin’ loved the donut shop. He loved fixing salads,” Shannon says. Iden had been a regular at the bakery since infancy. Shannon recalls Iden “sleeping in his car seat back there while we were making donuts. He went to work with us as much as he could. Don’t know if he wanted to spend extra time with Mom and Dad or to get out of doing farming chores.” Jeffrey Iden Schieber died on Dec. 15, 2016, as a result of an ATV accident on his family’s farm. The 12-year-old was a sixth-grader at Newkirk Middle School. Thinking of Turtle’s cozy interior and cramped kitchen, Shannon admits the move to the new location will be nice for staff and customers with its larger space, drive-up window and outdoor seating. “We’re awfully close outside the donut shop, but we’re awfully close inside the donut shop. It’s a pretty tight space,” she says. “Still, there is just a sadness in that this is where we spent a lot of time with Iden. When it’s something that you can hold onto and a space that you occupied with someone and then they’re not there … It’s going to be tough.” Customers will be relieved to learn the menu will stay the same, including the very popular chicken salad. “We’re a very traditional donut shop. Our variety is not huge because we honestly believe in doing a few things and doing them really well,” Shannon says. This farmer, rancher, sale barn operator, donut shop owner and mother of five is well-practiced in counterbalancing bitter with sweet.

“A new fresh space? It will be nice. But we certainly won’t forget our memories. We’ll try to take them with us as best we can.”

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