Local donut shops sell unique flavors for National Donut Day

From glazed to sour cream old-fashioned to candy apple, the Triangle has an abundance of donut shops with distinct and surprising flavor combinations to celebrate National Donut Day on Friday.

The Salvation Army created the holiday in 1938 to honor women who served donuts to soldiers during World War I. In 1917, these Donut Lassies were sent to France to create field bases near the front lines, where they would serve soldiers food and their own baked goods — including donuts. According to The Salvation Army, these women are credited with the popularity of the donut in the United States in the years following the war.

Some donut shop chains will be celebrating Donut Day this year, such as Krispy Kreme, which will be giving customers a free favorite donut, and a $2 glazed dozen after they purchase a dozen. Dunkin’ Donuts will be providing a free classic donut of choice after customers purchase a beverage.

Here are a few local shops that celebrate Donut Day in their own, unique ways:

The Root Cellar Cafe & Catering | Chapel Hill

About a year ago, Larry Katz, the general manager — at the time, kitchen manager — of The Root Cellar Cafe & Catering was brainstorming ideas on new cool dishes to bring to the restaurant. Then, the idea came to him — why not start making donuts?

Katz is a longtime donut fan and said he has been trying new donuts for years, which is how he went about the creative process of inventing new and unique flavors.

“It snowballed from there, and was always this cool thing,” he said. “And, we take whatever funky ingredient I had lying around and make it sweet or caramelize it or burn it or make a mistake and go from there and create something cool.”

Since then, Katz has made a multitude of unique flavors, including — but certainly not limited to — chocolate covered cherry, hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, strawberry shortcake and chicken and waffle.

Katz said that his process for creating and selling donuts involves community feedback and effort. A few months ago, one of Katz’s regulars came in, recommended a unique flavor, and he went with it, he said.

“I always gauge the pending popularity of it by when I walk into the dining room — it’s usually my prettiest one, I spend a little extra time to make it look really nice — so, when I walk in the dining room: How many ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ do I get? How many questions do I get about it?” he said. “If no one asks me a question about it, I might have a problem. If people don’t leave me alone, I got a good thing on my hands.”

Katz will be selling his newest donut, chocolate turtle, on Saturday and Sunday. It has caramel buttercream, chocolate icing, candied pecans and a caramel drizzle on top. While Root does not sells donuts on Fridays, Katz said that he encourages people to come try the newest flavor.

Katz said that he convinces people to buy his donuts by dramatically marveling at them, gabbing to his customers and eating one in front of them.

“We focus on being fun and creative with as many scratch-made ingredients as possible, while being as local as possible,” he said.

Early Bird Donuts | Durham

Sowadi Chea is the owner of mom-and-pop donut shop, Early Bird Donuts, located in Durham. Chea grew up in Boston and came upon donut-making purely by accident, he said. During the 2007 recession, his uncle in Little Rock, Ark. offered him a position at his donut shop, and it was there that Chea learned the tools of the trade. Soon, Chea was able to open his own bakery in Arkansas, before relocating to Durham.

Less than five minutes from Duke University’s West Campus, Shea said that the shop has become popular among Duke employees and students, including doctors just starting residency. In that way, Early Bird has become a part of their daily routine.

On the weekends, however, Chea said that the shop is a bit different.

“It’s all families, people coming in before or after sporting events,” he said. “In the fall, there’s always a line out the door, especially before Duke football games. I’m really pleased that the community has embraced us.”

Chea’s favorite donuts at Early Bird are the glazed and sour cream old-fashioned donuts. Old-fashioned donuts are cake donuts that taste more like cookies than donuts, he said.

Chea said that it has been exciting to watch people in the community go through major life events. One costumer, he said, he witnessed go through medical school and finish her residency. Last fall, Early Bird catered her wedding.

For Donut Day, Early Bird will be providing customers a free glazed donut.

“It’s the same day every year,” Chea said. “And typically, it either lands on the last day of school for elementary school, or close to, so it’s always a great day to finish off the school year.”

Tonya’s Cookies | Chapel Hill

Like Chea, Tonya Council’s favorite donut is glazed.

Council is the granddaughter of Mildred Council, better known by the Chapel Hill community as the original owner of Mama Dip's Kitchen. Council grew up working with her family at the restaurant, before branching out on her own, she said. 

“It’s pretty much for my grandmother, Mama Dip,” Council said of her dedication to baking.

Council now owns Tonya’s Cookies, located in Chapel Hill. In 2021, Council’s pecan crisp cookies were featured in Oprah’s Favorite Things.

The bake shop sells everything from cakes to apple pie, including donuts. Council’s donuts include filled, glazed, chocolate, blueberry, raspberry, pistachio and maple.

For Donut Day, Council said she would be selling a dozen donuts for $18, and a half dozen for $12. Additionally, Council said that she is selling specialty donuts to celebrate Father's Day.

@dthlifestyle | lifestyle@dailytarheel.com