Fluffy treats, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, are a staple of PNE. But this year, longtime mini-donut vendor That Little Donuts won’t be making an appearance. The Calgary-based company, which has served sweets at the PNE since 1976, says it received notice from the PNE late last week that its application to participate in the fair this summer had been rejected. “It was really shocking,” co-owner Nathan Maier said Monday in an interview with CBC’s On The Coast. He said the PNE told them they refused because the fair offered similar products. “We can’t discuss the reasons why a particular booth wasn’t approved, but we can say that we have several mini donut vendors that will be on the show floor,” said PNE spokeswoman Laura Ballance. To be clear, the https://t.co/js5BEIJslQ —@LauraBallance According to a tweet, Ballance said the fair already has three independent mini donut vendors, one of which she calls “the original mini donut family.” Maeir and his father took over They Little Donuts in 2012, and he says they’ve worked hard to keep the tradition of mini donuts alive at the fair. “These are the original machines, the original product, the original recipe,” he said. “There may be others out there trying to compete with us … but we are the originals.” Customers buy mini donuts at a drive-thru event at the PNE in Vancouver on May 22, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC) Maeir says that even though they had success at the Calgary Stampede earlier this summer, he worries that losing PNE could have a negative impact on his business. “It’s a huge impact on our business, especially when we’re going through two years of COVID… We’ve been delayed so far because we can’t have mass gatherings or mass events,” he said. Maier says he remains optimistic they will be able to return next year.
