01 Jun 2025 Dad day’s and donuts
By Stefanie Brazile
The world offers more distractions than it did in the past, which is why so many dads begin one day each week by taking their kids to breakfast at a place where everybody knows their name.
“I started going to Julie’s about three years ago because as a kid my mom used to take me to Ed’s Bakery before school, and I would get a smiley cookie and a chocolate milk,” said Cameron Wise, who lives in West Little Rock with his wife, Andriana, and three young children. “Julie’s Sweet Shoppe is one of the spots in Conway that has a local, hometown feel to it, and I want my kids to experience that over a corporate option.”
Wise said that going to a local bakery each Friday reminds him of his childhood, and he thought it would be a fun way to spend some time with his son Wilder, 8, daughter Briar, 5, and two-year-old son, Aiden. “It’s absolutely challenging to get up at 5:45 and have the two oldest dressed and out the door by 6:20. It usually takes a good 45 minutes to get to Conway. But the kids do really well about getting up and dressed when I tell them it’s Friday and they have just one more day until the weekend.”
Another dad has kept this tradition for two decades, and the staff at Julie’s is always glad that Jason Aultman came. He started having breakfast with his son, Turner, nearly 20 years ago, and when daughter Landri started kindergarten, she joined the tradition. “Originally, when Turner and I began going, my wife Toya and the kids lived in West Conway and our standing place was McDonald’s,” Aultman said. “A few other places have made the rotation over the years, but years ago, Julie’s Sweet Shoppe became Landri and my normal Friday morning stop.”
Even though Landri just finished her sophomore year of college, the tradition continues. As long as she’s available and willing to hang out with her dad, he’ll be there. When the kids were young, the breakfast date was sometimes used to review for a spelling test or to talk about anything and everything. “There’s no real agenda,” he said. “It’s always been a way that I was sure to carve out a consistent time to just have with the kids. It’s certainly not the only time we spent together, but even if life got hectic, this was a standing time we had that very few things were allowed to change.”
When Landri finished high school two years ago, they made their final Friday stop at Julie’s to celebrate her graduation. As usual, the team welcomed them in and made them feel right at home. “Landri loves to see the other regulars there, such as a group of ladies [known to many as The Golden Girls or Julie’s Chicks as seen on the February 2025 cover of this magazine], as well as a group of retired men who are sitting around telling lies!” Aultman said. He thought that Friday would be the end of an era, but was delighted when his Central Baptist College-bound daughter said, “Well, you still have to take me to breakfast when I’m in college.”
“That sure made this Daddy’s heart smile!”
Pastor Gary Logan and his wife, Lacy, are at the starting line of the long race of parenting. The gang at Julie’s always greets their little princesses with a smile. Twins Harper and Kendall are five, and they joined the breakfast club last fall when they started Pre-K in Mayflower. “We go every Friday, pending behavior,” Logan said. “It used to be a challenge, but we have mastered going places. We are always out and about. We have our unique challenges some days, but going to Julie’s is an ultimate motivator for the girls.” He said they are usually running late, so they always pick up two fried pies for the school principal!
All three dads hope to build a tradition that will always be remembered with fondness and a smile. Hanging out and enjoying the wonderful smells of a genuine bakery, seeing friends from the community who share your love of sweets for breakfast and knowing the staff will know your name all draw these three families back week after week.
