Handheld Sweets

By Ty Renbarger

Little known fact about the tasters, we each have a sweet tooth. Well, who doesn’t right?  Morning coffee is just a bit better with a sweet savory handheld treat. What isn’t as much of a secret, is our running crew’s obsession with long morning workouts which usually makes justifying the extra calories quite easy.  

After one of these calorie-burning mornings this year, we decided to make our way through Wabash County to try all of the tasty, sweet, and savory handheld treats. We wanted to ensure that we knew the ins and outs on where we could satisfy our sweet cravings. After finishing a long run (and big calorie burn), we took off from the Wabash YMCA and pointed our car north on Cass Street, in search of great sweetness. 

Our first spot was Mike & Roxy’s Donut Shop. Located at 1710 S Wabash St in Wabash, this quaint donut shop popped onto the scene in the midst of COVID and drew a crowd by offering “Wabash Donuts.” Mike, the owner, was there with a friendly smile and plenty of fresh, colorful donuts. The nostalgic donuts once were made here in Wabash but now are delivered fresh each morning by the same original bakers. We found a slew of delicious options from fruit fritters, crème-filled, glazed, cake, twists… you name it. It was a great start to our morning tour.  

Next, we continued north towards North Manchester to see what the north side of the county had to offer. Next stop, Travel Bee Coffee House & pastries. Walking into the historic house just off Main Street  (101 E Second St, North Manchester) the smells of sweet deliciousness filled the air in the best way! Our attention drifted to the array of coffee and specialty drinks along with several house-made pastries. The atmosphere is unique, and quaint, yet secluded just enough to ensure your catch-up with a close friend or business colleague is highly productive.  

While in North Manchester, we also stopped at Nordmann’s Nook Bakery located directly on Main Street (1106 IN-114 W North Manchester). This nostalgic spot has all the delicious smells of my grandma’s house.

The bakery is known for its pies, cookies, dumplings, and muffins. They also serve one of the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever bit into, and that’s saying a lot! The bakery offers plenty of seating to house a large group for laughs after any long run.  Bonus, you can take home a dozen cookies as an afternoon snack. 

After our time in North Manchester, we headed back south towards Wabash. Since it was Friday, we darted directly to Modoc’s Market (205 S Market St Wabash, IN). This coffee shop is named after the elephant who broke free and burst through the door in 1942 to have her fill of some roasted peanuts. Now, the coffee shop is the local favorite for a morning brew and on Friday’s has a solid selection of donuts. The donuts are delivered fresh in the morning and are usually quite festive depending on the season. Selections included crème filled, caramel iced, chocolate iced, cake, and glazed. don’t forget to grab a freshly baked scone, monster cookie, or molasses cookie (my personal favorite) on your way out.  

Lastly, we drove south of town to Josiah White’s where the students run the 50 East Café (5233 S 50 E, Wabash, IN 46992). The café is nestled in the garden store and offers a full menu of breakfast drinks, breakfast sandwiches and pastries. Only 7- minutes from downtown Wabash, it is a relaxing place to start the morning with a few tables tucked away in the greenhouse. We had our eyes on the monkey bread muffin which was a great way to end our calorie splurge. There is something special about enjoying some sweet treats while watching the sunlight filter in on all the plants around us. 

This tour was quite the sweet-calorie overload but also a great reminder of all the incredibly unique coffee and pastry shops Wabash County has to offer. Since we thoroughly enjoyed the calorie-dense morning, tomorrow’s plan is another long run, ride, or swim to ensure that we can hit the sweet treat tour again. Next time, I think we will just savor one place rather than doing a donut crawl.