Made in Wisconsin: Cranky Al's serves up donuts on North Avenue in Wauwatosa
Mar 19, 2025
Cranky Als Donuts has been a staple of Wauwatosas North Avenue for decades. Started by Susie and Al in 1999, the menu has grown to include coffee and even pizza. Susie and Als nephew Joey Carioti runs the day-to-day now, and sa
ys being part of the Wauwatosa community is part of their DNA and what keeps them going. You get to see kids come in here and they can barely see over the counter, and fast forward next thing you know they are working for us... I always feel that if were not helping out other businesses were not going to be successful either said Carioti. Customers come daily to pick up thousands of donuts. 5,000 on weekends. But the 1 million donuts they make every year share menu space with pizzas too. Watch: Made in Wisconsin: Cranky Al's serves up donuts on North Avenue in Wauwatosa Made in Wisconsin: Cranky Al's serves up donuts on North Avenue in WauwatosaJoey says back in the day his uncle would use the bakery ovens they had to make his own pizzas after Susie complained he was spending too much money on ordering them from a local pizza shop. Carioti says It soon became clear they should sell them. People kept coming in, what are you eating? It's my own pizza. Fast forward, people started wanting to buy it. To streamline business, pizza sales eventually went frozen. Now Cranky Als sells pizzas to bars around Milwaukee, including Camp Bar locations.Carioti says he would like to grow the business in the future, but right now they focus on collaborating with other local businesses. Every year they make a beer with fellow North Avenue business Venture Brewing, and they collaborate with local bakeries and popsicle maker Petes Pops.Cranky Als is located at 6901 North West Avenue in Wauwatosa.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error ...read more read less