[NEW BUSINESS]
john altdorfer
Madsen Donuts
comes south
A Brian Peltz has been hooked on Madsen Donuts since he was a kid on vacation in Geneva-on-the-Lake,
Ohio. Now he and his wife, Milica, own a Madsen franchise in Castle Shannon.

t 6:30 in the morning, Brian Peltz is roll-
ing in the dough. Actually, Peltz is rolling
out the dough for a fresh batch of glazed cin-
namon sticks.

Already three hours into his workday, the
Pat Haven Drive resident finds himself in his
happy space—Madsen Donuts at 3609 Library
Avenue in Castle Shannon.

New to the area, Madsen’s is a doughnut leg-
end that started in Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio,
in 1938, when Carl Madsen opened his iconic
shop on the main drag of the Lake Erie resort
town. Over decades of summers, dozens and
dozens of western Pennsylvania families, in-
cluding the Peltz family, have enjoyed Madsen
donuts during annual summer vacations.

Quality work from a
partner you can trust
ve an sa
We c ney and
o y o u m d ex i s t i n g
l i
u re b
wa l l s
ning i
a t
e r
SERVICES (Now scheduling for spring)
• Full landscape design and install of lawns, plants & trees
• Clean ups, trimming, mulching, decorative rock beds
• Pavers for patios/outdoor fireplaces
After many years of providing exclusive
landscaping and general contracting services
to affiliate Schultz Real Estate, owner Tim
Schultz Jr. is pleased to offer Schultz Builders’
quality landscaping and contracting services
to the residents of his hometown.

• Decks
• Retaining walls
• Grading & excavation for storm water install or repair
www.schultzbuilders.us SCHULTZ BUILDERS, LLC
PO BOX 1084, MCMURRAY, PA 15317
412-389-1762 • timschultzjr@gmail.com
24 Mt. Lebanon Magazine | DECEMBER 2021



“We started going to Geneva-on-the-Lake
in 1964. Now it’s like a reunion every year,” he
said. “And we always make a doughnut run
to Madsen’s.”
A couple of years ago, on another run to
Madsen’s, Peltz inquired about a sign in the
window that said franchises were available.

Not long after, Peltz and his wife, Milica, cele-
brated their joint ownership of the first Mad-
sen satellite location—even if they weren’t the
first in line for one.

ued throughout the morning. By 9:30, every
donut, cinnamon stick and jelly- and cream-
filled pastry was gone. Still, Peltz worried.

“I didn’t want anyone to be disappointed,”
he said. “What if someone traveled from the
North Hills and we didn’t have any dough-
nuts when he got here?”
A couple of months later, Peltz says he’s
still working on a formula to determine how
many donuts to make each day.

“I check the weather forecast. I think about
the day of the week and other
things,” he said. “Then I rub my
crystal ball and try to figure it
out.” One thing Peltz doesn’t fret
about it is keeping the operation
running smoothly. Along with his
wife—whom he met when both
worked for USAirways—Peltz re-
lies on a dedicated crew that in-
cludes Manny Rana, a 2018 Mt.

Lebanon graduate. A baker on
the early morning shift, Rana at-
tends Community College of Al-
legheny County later in the day.

On weekends, current Mt. Leba-
non High School students do ev-
erything from working the front
counter to washing dishes.

Speaking of high school, two
of the three Peltz kids—Nikolas
Milica Peltz runs Madsen Donuts with her husband, Brian.

and Alexander—already graduat-
“Eight other people got rejected before ed from Mt. Lebanon, while Jasmine will re-
us,” Peltz said. The reason? They didn’t want ceive her diploma next spring.

to stick to the Madsen recipe book, literally
As customers pick up boxes of doughnuts
and figuratively.

for a local school fundraiser, co-workers and
“Some of them wanted to serve bacon, family and friends, Peltz drops a wire rack
egg and cheese doughnuts or hot dogs and filled with cinnamon sticks into a vat of bub-
sandwiches later in the day,” he explained. bling grease behind him. For 90 seconds or
The Madsen approach is straight forward: so, Peltz and Rana flip the pastries over and
12 types of doughnuts and rolls and nothing over with extra-long chop sticks till they’re
else. Still, Peltz manages to add some local golden brown all around. Then he transfers
flavor to his donuts, topping them with black them to a table, where another employee
and gold sprinkles on Steelers game days.

dips them two at a time in a milky glaze.

Promising to stick to the Madsen plan, Peltz
People, not machines, do nearly all the
completed a short apprenticeship in Ohio work in making every Madsen doughnut. The
before making his first doughnut in Castle only sign of automation in the place is the in-
Shannon. After promoting his shop on social dustrial power tool that Peltz uses to blend the
media and word of mouth, Peltz worked right seven or eight high-quality ingredients in ev-
up to the last minute of opening day on Au- ery gigantic bowl of dough. Yes, of course, he
gust 9.

holds the power tool. With both hands.

And he worried about customers turning
Peltz picks up a cinnamon stick—the warm
out. glaze still dripping a bit—and hands it to a by-
“Of course, I worried that people might stander.

not show up,” he said. “I think about that ev-
“Go ahead. Take a bite while it’s still warm,”
ery day.”
he said. “Did you ever taste anything that
Whatever doubts Peltz had disappeared good?”
almost as quickly as the doughnuts that filled
The bystander closes his eyes. No words
the display cases and rolling racks behind are necessary. The smile on his face says it all.

the counter.

“By the time we opened at 6 o’clock,
—JOHN ALTDORFER
eight to 10 people were lined up outside,”
said Peltz. That rush of customers contin-
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Chef Oat serves delicious, fresh, homemade
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Check us out on
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(412)-505-5466 300 Mt. Lebanon Blvd
Suite 4
Castle Shannon, Pa 15234
We are open
Tuesday-Saturday 11am-9pm
lebomag.com | 25