Doughnut Lounge brings a Doughnut Day preview. Get other doughnuts at these places
If Jake Randall has his way, next year’s national Doughnut Day will be a bonanza at the shop he means to open in Westport. But bringing Doughnut Lounge to fruition is going to take some dough — the kind you raise and then spend.
Later this month, the 32-year-old businessman told me this morning, he plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000. That’s what he says it’ll take to complete construction on Doughnut Lounge at 4117 Pennsylvania (where the Imagery used to sell clothing — without, of course, a grease trap).
“There are a lot of plumbing issues to bring the space up to code,” Randall says, “and updating the heating and cooling.” At least that’s what my notes say. I was distracted by the doughnuts he’d brought The Pitch, for sampling purposes, and by the two-man camera crew in tow, shooting footage for the Kickstarter campaign.
But yes, the money raised would go toward putting in that grease trap and bringing the plumbing up to commercial-kitchen code. For now, Randall is perfecting his recipes. Judging by what we tried today — Meyer lemon with chia seeds, cinnamon maple, and chocolate with salted caramel — there’s good reason for backers to hope he succeeds.
Randall says he hadn’t been in Westport past 1 a.m. for years when, during a recent return visit, he got the doughnut idea. He plans to make up for the party district’s, uh, doughnut hole by making and selling the pastries until at least 1 a.m. on weekends. “It’s so crowded and vibrant,” he says of the neighborhood. “Those are my people.” More of that story will presumably be in the footage now being shot by Kansas City-based Summer House Films — Nate Eaton and Austin Goldberg — the outfit producing Randall’s Kickstarter video.
Randall has already hired Carrie Kish to serve as executive pastry chef, and he says his best-case scenario is to have the Doughnut Lounge operating by early September.
That’s a long time to wait for doughnuts, especially when today is national Doughnut Day. So here are some places to get your fix today. (Sorry, our Doughnut Lounge boxes are picked clean.)
The metro locations of the Massachusetts-based Dunkin Doughnuts chain are offering a free doughnut to patrons who purchase any beverage. Not every one of the doughnuts at the participating shops is included in the deal.
Krispy Kreme’s local outposts in the metro are also handing out free doughnuts, but only to patrons who go online and “Like” the North Carolina-based company’s Facebook page. The reward will be a coupon for a free doughnut.
The nine metro locations of the iconic Kansas City doughnut emporium LaMar’s are giving away one free doughnut while supplies last.
