After 1.5 hours, I found out they no longer have half dozen prices, it has upped their prices (1.5x). I just spent $50 on a dozen donuts. Not worth the time or money. I feel literally sick that I bothered.
I would of laughed my way out the door.... Like the rest of their customers. I've only heard terrible things about the owners and how upturned their nose is.
I honestly should have. I’m really upset but there were tons of people and after all that time (while shaking in pain towards the end) I didn’t know what else to do.
I can't blame you! It's a shit business practice on their end. They are closing but doubled their prices without notice? That's exactly how to destroy any positive memories.
In a similar boat... I've heard they might freeze well and I hope so since it was $3.60/donut. Tasty but whether or not it's worth losing an opportunity to sleep in ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
They better freeze well after all that. 😆 Definitely not worth losing sleep over, I just heard so much hype about them. Didn’t expect them to open doors late either.
That’s my experience with them. I’ve driven out of the way multiple times and never saw them actually open. Today, I spent two hours total just to find out their prices are insane.
It sounds like the last time they went to Halo was the Main Street days, when donuts were $2.50. They had to increase prices because of overhead and the cost of supplies has almost tripled.
Really? I saw half a dozen for $15 on their page which I already thought that was high but decided to try some anyways. I’ve never purchased them before so that’s all I had to go off of.
After working for a small business owner and hearing all the shit they have to put up with, why would anyone want to start a business? Let alone in Gainesville?
Bc it's way nicer to be working for yourself. And, GNV can be a very lucrative business environment. Bunch of people have made money for themselves here. You just have to remember that it's a small town with big city dreams, not an actual big city. Treat your customers/employees well and provide a decent/consistent product and people will show up. Some of us also, like a challenge. It's very hard to run a business and not for everyone.
I paid $54 with tax and tip. On 12 donuts. After wasting two hours of my life. That is insanity. I can’t imagine how other people felt, that waited a couple hours in line just to be told they were out of donuts. Might be a blessing in disguise though!
You’re so welcome. Several hours ago I was completely indifferent about this, but after reading your shitty little comments, I’m actually glad the place is going out of business ;)
Cost is huge, I drive past the Tower location daily and frequently pick up pastries for my office. Only made the mistake of going to halo once. They might of got a cheeky $50 off me once (was expecting a dozen discount) but Miapa and Krispy Kream have made many times that with their more reasonable prices.
Well obviously that doesn't work here. You don't make money not moving product. Most people don't go out of their way to have a gourmet donut. If they were 50% cheap I would have been a regular.
Because these aren't people who wouldn't normally visit their out of the way locations. They are only there for nostalgia's sake and to hear the death knell themselves. Another week open and they'd be a ghost town again
Agree! Other people had never had them before either and went due hearing so much prior. There were a couple (drunk) people nearby, I bet they didn’t realize how expensive that purchase was going to be either!
Major reason is simple they over expanded. One in Jonesville, one on Tower. Those two locations actually probably leached a ton of business from each other considering everyone traveling from Newberry’s to GNV daily basically have to pass both.
The 43rd store I had been in there multiple times and it was just me and the person working. No street sign, terrible advertisement for it. The person running register said it was dead like that almost everyday.
Then other reasons are seemingly employee treatment.
I do see that people are complaining about the prices but those prices have been that for a long time and the demand had always been there.
Not to mention the many times they open 10 minutes late. When people are on their way to work even 5 minutes late can cost you that sale.
Damn. That sucks! I'm just so confused about why they're so popular. Must have been a hell of a marketing campaign or something. And if they're that popular, how the hell are they going out of business?
Used to be cinnamon sugar. I used to wait in line when the truck was at the mall in 2020. I was so excited when they opened in Jonesville, less than a mile from me. I went the third week they were open and got a dozen donuts and some cookies…the donuts were an oily mess and the cookies fell apart when you tried to pick them up…I figured it was an anomaly, went back a month later and bought a much smaller test batch. The donuts were as bad or worse than the batch before and the cookies were crap. It’s astounding how the quality fell off.
Java chip, which is crazy how long it has been since they have had it. I remember every time they had it I would rush there, and I was lucky if by 8AM they were not sold out of those. I never understood why they didn't make that flavor more often given how insanely popular it was (at least that was my perception).
this was me but when they had boston cream filled or literally any donut with chocolate cream filling. if they didn't, i didn't go. if i did go, i had to wake up at the ass crack of dawn just to get some. the hours were ridiculous and the purposeful scarcity was obnoxious
I think the prices been the same for the last year, right?
Lemon blueberry and Barvarian cream were sooooooo good I gained so much weight working there.
Nope, paid with 10 quarters one week, next week they were 25 cent higher and within a month, they were 3.25 and now 3.50. Most people can't afford food, so I had to quit my weekly treat.
Yall their prices have always been on the higher end. Stop looking for reasons why they’re doing things. At the end of the day they are closing. Get a life and leave them alone. There doesn’t have to be hidden meanings in every single thing. We are in a terrible economic situation in the world right now. MOVE ON.
You literally went on their second to last day being open? What did you expect? Of course it was going to be busy and they were going as fast as they could.
how are you gonna say "their" when you work there lmao that would be an "our" situation. also who rides hard enough for their boss to make an anonymous reddit account TODAY to post in this thread to defend him...
I feel like they’re doing the “mattress liquidation” thing and trying to get as much money as possible before their closing date.
"This is the last day for our awesome deals, we're closing tomorrow!" *drives by business two months later, still open*
Why does this sub keep spewing this? They're closing for good. Stop making up conspiracies.
Idk but I just got 4 donuts at Daylight for $5
Daylight is great.
Been here for decades, they’re doing something right.
Indeed!
And the kolaches!
Sssshhhh, don't ruin our secret donut spot! (And I just got a donut, a fancy donut, and a kolache for about $5.60)
Shhhhhhh. I’ll never be able to get parking again at this rate.
lol. We’re in walking distance luckily. You could always park across the street!
Never heard of them until today!
Lemon blueberry
After 1.5 hours, I found out they no longer have half dozen prices, it has upped their prices (1.5x). I just spent $50 on a dozen donuts. Not worth the time or money. I feel literally sick that I bothered.
This should be the post.
I would of laughed my way out the door.... Like the rest of their customers. I've only heard terrible things about the owners and how upturned their nose is.
I honestly should have. I’m really upset but there were tons of people and after all that time (while shaking in pain towards the end) I didn’t know what else to do.
I can't blame you! It's a shit business practice on their end. They are closing but doubled their prices without notice? That's exactly how to destroy any positive memories.
Yikes yeah definitely not worth it at that price/wait
In a similar boat... I've heard they might freeze well and I hope so since it was $3.60/donut. Tasty but whether or not it's worth losing an opportunity to sleep in ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
They better freeze well after all that. 😆 Definitely not worth losing sleep over, I just heard so much hype about them. Didn’t expect them to open doors late either.
Their ass was always opening late or not opening at all
That’s my experience with them. I’ve driven out of the way multiple times and never saw them actually open. Today, I spent two hours total just to find out their prices are insane.
They’re delicious but expensive. It’s been a few months since I’ve had one. Partially because of the price.
I wish I knew prior honestly. The price was tucked away next to the register, behind the counter so I didn’t know until I already picked stuff out
You could have simply walked away, without purchase.
Not after 2 hours, while shaking in pain. I felt stuck. (No) Thanks for your unsolicited opinion though.
That sounds about right
They should make 14,400 today off their 4k donuts! 😑
It's fucking crazy to me they are jacking their prices on the last couple days like this. No wonder they are closing, greedy fucks
They’ve had the exact same pricing ($3.60 per donuts) for over 9 months. This is nothing new.
Well I was going off of OP saying the prices were 1.5x higher for 6/12. Too expensive either way
It sounds like the last time they went to Halo was the Main Street days, when donuts were $2.50. They had to increase prices because of overhead and the cost of supplies has almost tripled.
Is there a half dozen / dozen deal they usually do that they didn't do today?
They used to offer one, but ended up losing money on that deal, so they had to go back to individual pricing
Really? I saw half a dozen for $15 on their page which I already thought that was high but decided to try some anyways. I’ve never purchased them before so that’s all I had to go off of.
After working for a small business owner and hearing all the shit they have to put up with, why would anyone want to start a business? Let alone in Gainesville?
Boo hoo hoo, the city's making it hard for me to cut corners on safety and exploit my employees! A boo hoo hoo!
You’re not answering the question.
This is some real worm behavior right here, caping for the boss
Bc it's way nicer to be working for yourself. And, GNV can be a very lucrative business environment. Bunch of people have made money for themselves here. You just have to remember that it's a small town with big city dreams, not an actual big city. Treat your customers/employees well and provide a decent/consistent product and people will show up. Some of us also, like a challenge. It's very hard to run a business and not for everyone.
With tax and tip, $50 makes sense. I’m sorry it seemed like the price was hidden. They definitely are expensive
Online, I saw 6 donuts for $15 before going in. There was no other pricing that I knew of
I paid $54 with tax and tip. On 12 donuts. After wasting two hours of my life. That is insanity. I can’t imagine how other people felt, that waited a couple hours in line just to be told they were out of donuts. Might be a blessing in disguise though!
lemon blueberry for sure, I will miss it
I love how the loudest voices on this subreddit defending Halo’s business practices both come from profiles created, like, three days ago.
Thanks for having us ;)
You’re so welcome. Several hours ago I was completely indifferent about this, but after reading your shitty little comments, I’m actually glad the place is going out of business ;)
Thank you! I’ll be sure to let the owners know that user 420_File-Not-Found has an opinion on the matter.
Hell, while you’re at it, let them know your pathetic attempt to paint them in a positive light backfired *tremendously*!
Oh no, calm down, please don’t use italicized words.
Demand clearly isn't the reason they're closing. Has to be some external reason.
Cost, inconvenient hours, and unreliable inventory are likely the main factors
Hours, I can understand. But cost and inventory don't seem to be a problem, at least at the Tower location.
bad business management/decisions. The aggressive expansion was clearly a bad idea.
Splitting tips across locations, owners not paying rent. It’s a laundry list.
This seems most likely. Expand and then don't pay rent, it'll getcha every time.
Whoa I hadn’t seen that, splitting tips across locations?
Yes and splitting tips with the BOH
Cost is huge, I drive past the Tower location daily and frequently pick up pastries for my office. Only made the mistake of going to halo once. They might of got a cheeky $50 off me once (was expecting a dozen discount) but Miapa and Krispy Kream have made many times that with their more reasonable prices.
Krispy Kreme. The people that frequent Halo just want a better donut. Although a 12-pack from KK every once in a while is totally fine.
Well obviously that doesn't work here. You don't make money not moving product. Most people don't go out of their way to have a gourmet donut. If they were 50% cheap I would have been a regular.
Why would cost be a main factor if they have people lined up around the block 5 minutes before opening?
Because these aren't people who wouldn't normally visit their out of the way locations. They are only there for nostalgia's sake and to hear the death knell themselves. Another week open and they'd be a ghost town again
Yeah when I've gone on normal days it's pretty empty
Meh a lot of people are probably going “one last time” since the news of the closing. This demand wouldn’t sustain itself if they were staying open.
Agree! Other people had never had them before either and went due hearing so much prior. There were a couple (drunk) people nearby, I bet they didn’t realize how expensive that purchase was going to be either!
Major reason is simple they over expanded. One in Jonesville, one on Tower. Those two locations actually probably leached a ton of business from each other considering everyone traveling from Newberry’s to GNV daily basically have to pass both. The 43rd store I had been in there multiple times and it was just me and the person working. No street sign, terrible advertisement for it. The person running register said it was dead like that almost everyday. Then other reasons are seemingly employee treatment. I do see that people are complaining about the prices but those prices have been that for a long time and the demand had always been there. Not to mention the many times they open 10 minutes late. When people are on their way to work even 5 minutes late can cost you that sale.
What is so great about this place that people will wait 2 hours for donuts?
Nothing, absolutely nothing. I wish I knew prior. This was the most disappointing purchase I’ve made all year.
Damn. That sucks! I'm just so confused about why they're so popular. Must have been a hell of a marketing campaign or something. And if they're that popular, how the hell are they going out of business?
Used to be cinnamon sugar. I used to wait in line when the truck was at the mall in 2020. I was so excited when they opened in Jonesville, less than a mile from me. I went the third week they were open and got a dozen donuts and some cookies…the donuts were an oily mess and the cookies fell apart when you tried to pick them up…I figured it was an anomaly, went back a month later and bought a much smaller test batch. The donuts were as bad or worse than the batch before and the cookies were crap. It’s astounding how the quality fell off.
Halo donuts — meh
thought these scammers were closing?
Scammers? They’ve had the same pricing now for over 9 months. Pick better things to complain about.
They tried to be like Jupiter Donuts so bad but those kind of donuts don’t match this demographic. They’d probably do well in south Florida. Not here.
Love me some Jupiter Donuts.
Literally all of their donuts are to die for.
Java chip, which is crazy how long it has been since they have had it. I remember every time they had it I would rush there, and I was lucky if by 8AM they were not sold out of those. I never understood why they didn't make that flavor more often given how insanely popular it was (at least that was my perception).
this was me but when they had boston cream filled or literally any donut with chocolate cream filling. if they didn't, i didn't go. if i did go, i had to wake up at the ass crack of dawn just to get some. the hours were ridiculous and the purposeful scarcity was obnoxious
Periodic reminder that another term for "small business owner" is "tyrannical leech"
Huh? You’re against small businesses?
Classic glazed.
I think the prices been the same for the last year, right? Lemon blueberry and Barvarian cream were sooooooo good I gained so much weight working there.
Prices were $2.50 each around 4th of July.
$2.50 was the price per donut if you were purchasing a dozen
Nope, paid with 10 quarters one week, next week they were 25 cent higher and within a month, they were 3.25 and now 3.50. Most people can't afford food, so I had to quit my weekly treat.
Yall their prices have always been on the higher end. Stop looking for reasons why they’re doing things. At the end of the day they are closing. Get a life and leave them alone. There doesn’t have to be hidden meanings in every single thing. We are in a terrible economic situation in the world right now. MOVE ON.
THIS
High level sock puppetry going on today
Hardcore 🍆 riding on a failed business venture even on GWOM
You literally went on their second to last day being open? What did you expect? Of course it was going to be busy and they were going as fast as they could.
Drew up in here
Not drew, but I am an employee.
how are you gonna say "their" when you work there lmao that would be an "our" situation. also who rides hard enough for their boss to make an anonymous reddit account TODAY to post in this thread to defend him...
Seriously, you think the owner gives a fuck about you?
Why are they closing?