A tiny bakery at the northern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula makes the best doughnuts in the state. That is our opinion, and after one bite of a thimbleberry-frosted doughnut from Jamsen’s Bakery, it will be yours too. Still don’t believe us? Gordon Ramsay stopped by for a taste himself in September 2020. He said, “This is wonderful.”
Jamsen’s sits directly on the Copper Harbor waterfront, steps from the dock where the Isle Royale Queen IV begins its journey across Lake Superior. The bakery opens at 7 a.m. during the summer, making it one of the first places in town serving hot coffee, breakfast and fresh pastries.
Owners Alex and Jill Protzel have built the bakery around family recipes and generations of Copper Country history.
Alex’s family came to the Keweenaw from Finland about a century ago to fish. The family later opened Jamsen’s Fish Market in 1954 in the same waterfront building visitors know today. When Alex and Jill took over, they expanded the business by adding coffee and baked goods in 2013.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Jamsen’s transitioned away from the fish market and focused on its bakery, coffee and gift shop.
Many of its recipes are inspired by the foods Alex and Jill grew up eating. The bakery serves Finnish pannukakku, muffins, cookies, turnovers and other scratch-made treats rooted in family tradition.
Then there are the doughnuts.
Jill’s grandmother regularly made old-fashioned doughnuts, inspiring Jamsen’s to create its own chocolate and vanilla versions. The bakery later topped them with frosting made using thimbleberries, a tart, delicate fruit that grows wild throughout the Keweenaw Peninsula.
The thimbleberry doughnut took off.
It is now so closely associated with Jamsen’s that the bakery sells doughnut keychains, socks and other merchandise celebrating its signature creation. Visitors frequently make Jamsen’s one of their first stops after reaching Copper Harbor, while others grab a doughnut and coffee before boarding the ferry to Isle Royale National Park.
The bakery’s location is part of the experience. Guests can sit near the harbor, watch boats cross the water and enjoy their breakfast with Lake Superior only a few steps away.
To meet Alex and Jill, learn more about the bakery’s Finnish roots and see how its famous thimbleberry doughnuts are made, watch “The Crossing Place | Jamsen’s Bakery.” The documentary episode is available through Visit Keweenaw’s The Crossing Place series here.
The series shares the people, traditions, businesses and experiences that make Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula unlike anywhere else.
Jamsen’s Bakery is located at 4 Waterfront Landing in Copper Harbor. Visitors should arrive early. The doughnuts have a habit of disappearing.
Looking for more thimbleberry fun? Don’t miss the Keweenaw Thimbleberry Festival Aug. 18-22.
Photos courtesy and copyright Visit Keweenaw, published with permission