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Photography by Iain Shaw
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Photography by Iain Shaw
Jyhni Smith, co-owner of The Donut Rush (3837A Vaile), says the store can make up to 1,200 doughnuts every hour, with the magic happening right in front of the customer. Not long after the Florissant shop's soft opening on September 2, an eager after-school crowd shows up to see doughnuts freshly made. There’s a literal doughnut rush most days, starting soon after the doors open at 6 a.m. “We're getting a great response from the community. It's been a lot of support, so we've actually been enjoying ourselves,” Smith says.
Smith runs The Donut Rush with her cousins Tiffani Carter and Jared Hudson, along with Carter’s boyfriend, Terence Fisher. As a former party promoter, Smith is familiar with working in the wee, small hours—although opening The Donut Rush has meant flipping her routine. “I’m not used to getting up at 4.30 in the morning,” she says. “Usually, I'm coming in from the club and going to sleep around that time, but now I'm waking up.”
Photography by Iain Shaw
Florissant already has its share of venerable stores, such as Old Town Donuts (open around the clock since 1968), so the newcomers felt the need to give the community a twist on the traditional offerings. “Everybody has big doughnuts and Long John doughnuts, so we wanted something a little more creative,” Smith says. “The mini doughnuts don't make you feel as guilty about cheating on your diet.”
Photography by Iain Shaw
The menu offers 13 preset topping combinations, but you can mix and match toppings to suit your own tastes. The Mount Rushmore, topped with powdered sugar, caramel, and Reese’s Pieces, is one of the early best-sellers, as is the Strawberry Cheesecake option, with cream cheese, strawberry and crushed Graham Crackers. You might choose your doughnuts based on pop culture references—Queen Bey, Papa Smurf, or Punky Brewster, for example. Alternatively, go the DIY route with toppings including rainbow sprinkles, Oreo cookies, crushed M&M's, cinnamon sugar, and more. Any order of doughnuts can also be made “woozy.” It's worth doing just so you can say you’ve been ID’d buying doughnuts.
Photography by Iain Shaw
Boxes start at $4.99 for six mini doughnuts and are also available in denominations of 12, 24, and 48. Note that the more you buy, the less you pay per doughnut: a box of 48 costs $27.99, or $0.58 per donut, compared to $0.83 per doughnut for the box of six.
The Donut Rush also offers refreshments including coffee, milk, and soda, but the milkshakes are a highlight and a steal at $3.99. You can choose from flavors including blueberry, strawberry, and chocolate, and top your shake with things like Reese’s Pieces, Oreo cookies, and M&M's if you like. All of the milkshakes are made with vanilla ice cream and—where appropriate—fresh fruit.
Smith says The Donut Rush can cater parties and workplace events, and the space is available to rent out for birthdays, baby showers, meetings, and the like. They’ve also just partnered with Postmates to offer deliveries.
