WESTWOOD, Calif.  – A beloved Los Angeles landmark, Stan's Donuts in Westwood Village, has served its last donut. It is a bittersweet ending for the business that ran for over half a century. But the memories are happy ones for Stephen Saltzman, a longtime customer and friend of owner Stan Berman, who stopped by the now vacant shop to take a last look.

“I'd see him here with white powder over his face and his apron,” said Saltzman. “He really worked at it. It's hard work!”

Saltzman says on weekdays he would come through the back entrance and talk news and politics with Stan and on Sundays he would bring his sons in for a weekend treat.

“Sunday mornings, I would come to the front entrance with my sons,” Saltzman said. “He had 40 or 50 different varieties. My tastes changed. As a child it was the cake donuts. As I got older, the glaze and the twist.”

Although Stan was semi-retired and had been planning to close up shop soon anyway, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure sooner than expected. Many regular customers were stopping by the shop to be greeted by a message from Stan taped to the window, thanking his loyal fans.

Saltzman, who owns the nearby Café Chez Marie, has temporarily closed his restaurant and also faces an uncertain future.

“The big question for a business like ours is, how long will it take for the business to get back to where it was the week before everything closed?” said Saltzman. “A lot of people will not have as much money to spend, our younger customers. The older ones will probably be a little bit more concerned about going out and being out around people. So, a lot of uncertainty.”

Shari Preiss drove all the way from La Cañada to take some photos of the place she says was central to her UCLA student days.

“You’d fill a white bag with as many donuts as you wanted, all the way to the top,” said Preiss. “We’d get a bag and we go back to our place, and just munch and laugh. We depended on Stan’s for Friday night or Saturday night!”

Saltzman added, “Stan had a really loyal fan base. I'm proud to count myself as one of them. Thanks for the memories. Thanks for 55 great years!”

Although it's an uncertain time for small businesses like his, Stan Berman’s donut shop was an LA classic and the memories made there will endure.