J Dilla Inspired Donut Shop Opens in Detroit
It's been ten years since the world lost J. Dilla and yet the producer's presence and influence continue to be felt. Mass Appeal Records issued the posthumous album The Diary last month, and Dilla's uncle Herman Hayes, just opened a specialty donut shop in Detroit in his nephew's honor called Dilla's Delights Donut Shop.
J. Dilla of course released an album titled Donuts on February 7, 2006, three days before he passed at the age of 32 after suffering from a rare blood disorder. The enthusiasm that prevails for his work carried over to the donut shop opened in his name, as the business ran out of donuts three times on its opening day.
"We wish we would've had enough to last until at least afternoon, but we kept bringing batches in and they kept going just like that!" store manager Glenn Telton said. Dilla's cousin, Herman Hayes Jr., said that the shop would have meant to the world to him. "He was all about the community and family and fun. That’s what food is about."
While the donuts are not made on premises, they are hand-crafted using 100 percent organic flour. "This is all about bringing something to the community and then help Dilla's kids. We're going to have them come in here and learn the business, something they can learn and take over when it's time," Telton says.
The shop opens Monday through Saturday at 5 a.m. and continues to draw large crowds, with a Fox 2 Detroit reporter saying that he saw a man leaving with six boxes. Watch the broadcast report on the shop up above.