Iconic Idaho Falls bakery opening second eastern Idaho location. Here’s where it will be
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IDAHO FALLS – After two years under new ownership, an iconic bakery is opening a second location in Rexburg.
Baker’s Dozen will open at 16 South Center Street next month in the building formerly occupied by Paradise Donuts & Gelato. Co-owner Alex Newman was hoping to have it open in time for Independence Day but doesn’t think it’s going to happen by then.
“An exact date isn’t known yet, but it will probably be sometime in July,” Newman tells EastIdahoNews.com.
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Alex Newman owns the shop with Jake Johnson, who bought the business in 2022. Newman says the menu will include all the doughnuts from the Idaho Falls menu with a few new items.
Paradise Donuts owner Paul Scholes recently contacted Johnson to say they were closing and asked if he was interested in buying some of their kitchen equipment.
That eventually led to a conversation about taking over the building.
“Paul was hoping (the new tenants) would be in the same industry that was here before, so he liked that idea,” Newman explains.
Newman and Johnson are leasing the building from Scholes, who lives out of state. The pair are looking forward to doing business in Rexburg.
“We’re excited for this new opportunity,” says Newman.
Paradise Donuts opened in September 2010, according to a news release. Scholes says there were multiple reasons for the closure. One reason had to do with the increasing amount of construction work on Center Street, making it difficult for customers to enter the store.
He says it was also getting difficult to run the Rexburg bakery from another state.
“Our life circumstances have changed and we are looking forward to the future. We want to thank the community, patrons, and our staff for their support,” Scholes says in a news release.
Newman and Johnson officially signed the lease on June 7.
Johnson, who also owns Big Deal Outlet at 400 South Woodruff in Idaho Falls, bought Baker’s Dozen in April 2022 after Randy Jensen, the original owner, passed away unexpectedly the year before.
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Johnson was a longtime customer of Baker’s Dozen and used to take his kids to the bakery every week.
He acquired all of Jensen’s recipes with the purchase of the business and he’s thrilled that Jensen’s assistant baker.
The Idaho Falls location is open Tuesday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Newman says they’re planning to experiment with different hours at the Rexburg store.
The pair are grateful for the reception they’ve received since taking over the business and are eager for customers to see the new Rexburg location.
“We’re new to this business. We’ve been ecstatic about the reception we’ve had in Idaho Falls and we’re excited to try a little bit different market up here in Rexburg with the college town atmosphere and see how it goes,” Newman says.
