Labadie’s Bakery has its regulars. 

“A couple of doughnuts and a cup of coffee and then they start their day,” said Greg Abbott as he cut pastries from dough made that morning.

“Everybody has their little addiction. Some are addicted to coming here,” said Abbott.

In between dipping chocolate-frosted doughnuts, Dawn Emond waited on her customers.

Whether it is children waiting for the school bus, a Saint Dominic Academy employee or a former Lewiston police chief, many people wear a path to the fresh-baked pastries at Labadie’s at 161 Lincoln Street in Lewiston. 

“There will be talk of politics all day,” said Emond, the morning after President Barack Obama won his second term in office. 

The bakery was started by Odelon Labadie in 1925. “He was a hard working Franco American,” Herve Gendreau, a former Lewiston police chief, said about the original owner.

Gendreau, 82, comes in two times a week for doughnuts, coffee and to give Emond a hard time.

“The best doughnut they made here, they don’t make anymore,” grumbled Gendreau as he recalled the tasty “square bismarcks” that he misses so much.

“He never fails to mention it,” said Emond, while making a fresh pot of coffee for Gendreau. 

Labadie passed the business onto his son Roland, and now a third-generation owner, Fabien Labadie, runs the show. 

Employees arrive at 3 a.m. to start the baking. “It takes a couple of days to get used to,” said Daniel Desrochers about the early-morning shifts.

“I am very grouchy in the morning, so I am usually late,” said Emond, who has worked at the bakery for 15 years. 

The doors open at 6 a.m. and the regulars roll in soon after.

“It’s always a pleasure to come here,” said Gendreau.