'Proper family business' - Inside Hitchin doughnut shop Say

Say has opened in 38 Churchyard after months of work to get the unit ready, with co-owner Aaron Shade hoping he can fill a doughnut-shaped void in the town.

"We feel like we’ve got a bit of a niche with the doughnuts, but we are trying to broaden what we do now with buns," he told The Comet.

"Doughnuts are treats, and its not treat day every day, but you do need lunch or a coffee every day. We’re trying to provide that without going too off course from what we do.

Aaron hard at work in his new shop. (Image: Dan Mountney)

"We’ve got coffee and doughnuts on the sign, so when people were walking past while we were getting ready to open, they were saying, ‘oh, not another coffee shop’, but we’re so much more than that. Doughnuts come first."

Say's journey started during lockdown when Aaron and his partner Sarah began making doughnuts.

Their sweet treats quickly caught people's attention, with Aaron adding: "Sarah and I started making doughnuts at home in lockdown, and because people were sat at home on Instagram, we got lots of eyes on what we were doing.

"It was a kind of stars aligned moment for us. Locally, it went viral, and people were coming to our front door to pick them up."

Say has plenty of sweet treats on offer. (Image: Dan Mountney)

The couple then opened a bakery and a shop in Bedford, before expanding to Berkhamstead and now into Hitchin.

Despite a delayed opening due to issues with the unit and the birth of son Louie, Aaron is delighted with his latest store and revealed he completed most of the refit himself.

"I am very pleased with the shop, but there are some little things that still need doing," he admitted. 

"It’s me that’s done the work though, and that’s why it’s taken so long. I am an electrician by trade, so if it wasn’t load bearing or gas, I thought I could do it, and I’ve done the plumbing and the woodwork myself.

Aaron completed much of the refit himself. (Image: Dan Mountney)

"I am chuffed and people have said they really like. We do want bad feedback though because that’s the only way we can get better."

Aaron also described Say as a "proper family business", revealing his children, George and Harper, help out too.

"It’s just me and Sarah, and we’ve got our children, Harper and George," he said.

"I think if we didn’t have the children then we probably could have stayed doing it from home for a while, but the home was like a doughnut factory.

"Now they’re six and five, they get involved in the day-to-day. George comes out and does the deliveries with me on a Sunday and that’s how he gets his pocket money. Harper is more artsy, so she does lots of designs for us.

"We’ve got pictures up of all of us opening other shops and working on things together, and I just love that they both get involved. It’s a proper family business."