Ryke's Bakery — Restaurant in Grand Haven

Their Muskegon location is famous and has been a popular donut destination for years. This location doesn't live up to the hype.

I have stopped in about four of five times, and each time they have been out of the donuts I want. And I was in mid to early morning, so I wasn't late. Not sure why they don't bake more of the popular options.

Now to the donuts: overall a plus, but some of them are dry. If you come after 9 AM, many of the donuts will be dried out or have melted a bit because they keep them in bright lit cases. Still tasty, but for the cost, they should do better.

As anyone knows who reads my reviews, customer service is paramount. As noted in a few other reviews, Ryke's in Grand Haven is spotty on customer service. I have never received friendly service, they are more likely to act bothered that they have to assist you. Often, employees are in the back and act pestered that they have to come out to the counter. Not a good look.

On one visit, the employee got snarky with me because I wanted to use a card for less than a minimum. I think it was under $5. I've addressed this in another review: businesses need to scrap purchase minimums. I've worked to implement many POS (point of sale) systems, and in today's business environment, there's no reason to charge a customer for using a credit or debit card. Ryke's is busy enough to either negotiate a better deal with their card processor, or they can eat the charge for the convenience. More people will be using CashApp, PayPal, and other currencies going forward, stop bullying customers who don't carry cash. At the very least, be polite about your policy.

The sandwiches and salads are solid, if a little overpriced. For my money, I'd rather visit Did's or Lucy's, because you'll be made to feel like they want your business.

Overall, if you don't mind indifferent customer service, the donuts are good enough at Ryke's to satisfy your sweet tooth. Just get there very early to ensure you can choose...

I love Ryke’s cake, but they’re making it difficult for me to even buy one. I live 40 minutes away so I tried to call and place a custom cake order for my birthday, but it kept going to a full voicemail box. I decided it was worth a drive over to place it but the young girl at the counter told me she needed her boss to call me later with a quote. I missed the call while I was at work and tried to call back with no avail. I gave up as it wasn’t that important. However, a month later my mom asked me to see if they had any premade cakes available to bring to camp for celebrating my step dad’s birthday. I tried calling again but kept getting the full voicemail box again until the young girl answered the phone and asked to put me on hold. Absolutely, no worries. Until they hung up on me after waiting 15 minutes on hold. I called back again and the girl answered with an attitude to ask me to hold. I told her I would if she doesn’t hang up again. Sure enough, the call drops again after another 13 minutes. After 45 minutes, she was finally able to answer my question that took only 31 seconds to be answered. I understand what it’s like being swamped with guests as I too work in customer service with a lack of staff to answer the phones during rushes, but I would recommend at least finding out what the guest is calling about to determine if they are able to be put on hold or to be called back later. I won’t let this experience ruin my love for Ryke’s as I know this is able to be worked on going forward for other’s experiences...

In October, my mom, who lives in CA, ordered me a pricey custom fondant birthday cake to pick up from Ryke’s based on reviews. I sent her a picture of the cake and she told me it wasn’t exactly what she ordered but I’m not making a fuss on my birthday. My fiancé and I both had a piece of the cake which tasted okay. It was a fondant cake so I wasn’t expecting amazing. The problem came about an hour later when we both found ourselves struggling with stomach issues in and out of the bathroom. The next day a had another small piece of the cake just to verify that it was what caused the stomach problems and sure enough it happened again. I didn’t want to leave a review without seeking resolution first. I called in, albeit a month later, and spoke to Mary who admitted to remembering my cake. First, she said that they would’ve known if there was an issue with their cakes because other customers would call in and that there was none, which made me feel unimportant as an individual customer. Second, she told me that it’s too late to issue a refund and offered no further recourse. Third, she deflected to the bakery supplier, stating that they don’t bake the cakes at Ryke’s. When I asked for the number to this bakery, she only said that she could communicate my concerns which I don’t trust. To sum, Ryke’s customer service made me feel unheard, like my individual customer concerns don’t matter. It is apparently their belief that if something happened a month ago, its no longer an issue...