Walk down Joseph Campau in Hamtramck, Michigan on a cold morning and the air changes before the street signs do. Butter and vanilla rise from the brick storefront of New Palace Bakery, where the line begins forming long before the lights flip to open.
Locals swear the best paczki in Michigan come from New Palace Bakery, and one warm, sugar-dusted bite makes the argument for them. What happens inside this iconic Hamtramck bakery during Fat Tuesday week feels like a small city running on dough, ritual, and anticipation – a tradition that has made New Palace Bakery a destination for paczki lovers across the state.
Before Dawn on Joseph Campau
The street is quiet until the front door of New Palace Bakery unlatches and warm air rolls across the sidewalk. Flour hangs in the glow like soft fog as a baker shoulders a sack inside.
The neon sign hums, and a woman in a parka murmurs first in line, hands wrapped around a paper cup that steams like a signal…