Going nuts for doughnuts... JoJoe’s shows demand for pastry is strong in Bellingham
During this challenging time of COVID and challenging winter weather, the arrival of JoJoe’s doughnuts provided a few more smiles in Bellingham.
But the omicron variant is quickly making its way around, so a potential exposure forced the new downtown Bellingham doughnut shop to shutdown for about a week, with plans to reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 18.
Despite the temporary setback, the opening of JoJoe’s Doughnuts last month is bright spot, as enthusiastic crowds embraced the new shop in December, selling out of hundreds of doughnuts within hours of opening each morning. Even with freezing temperatures and snow shutting down much of the city, JoJoe’s had to hire a second baker to keep up with demand.
While the owners JoAnne Dutton and Joseph Letourneau had an inkling the doughnuts might be popular, they were still shocked by the early response, particularly the kindness. Dutton said when they were selling out way earlier than expected, people’s reactions at being too late were a smile and a hearty congratulations, even though they missed out on trying the doughnut.
“People were just so kind, they just say they’ll come back,” said Dutton, who continues to also work at Haggen, a company she’s been with since 2002. “You know how you like where you live? I really like where I live.”
It’s not like Bellingham residents haven’t had other options when it comes to doughnuts. LaFeen’s Family Pride Donuts, which has been around since 1984 and is near Whatcom Falls, has quite a following. According to a recent article on the website Whatcom Talk, owner Chan Sumuth makes about 2,000 donuts a day and also seems to see the same kindness at his shop, saying in the article that he feels very lucky to have generous customers in a beautiful community.
JoJoe’s does offer some different options that may have factored in it being a hit from the first day it opened on Wednesday, Dec. 22. The doughnuts are gourmet-style, so along with having more fanciful styles, they are huge. They are rolled in a way to make them denser than a typical doughnut, Letourneau said, making one a “full dessert.”
The doughnuts are also made the night before, so while they are fresh, capacity was an issue early on. Adding another baker should help, and the variety has already expanded. Before the temporary closure, more than a dozen different varieties were being whipped up; some examples include dark chocolate strawberry Bismark, a key-lime doughnut, an Elvis Presley-inspired doughnut with banana, bacon and filled with peanut butter, and a coconut chai-flavored doughnut.
The other options that seem to be big hits early on are the vegan and gluten-free doughnuts. Gluten-free was one of the most asked-about doughnuts and would quickly sellout, Dutton said.
After years of working in the hotel restaurant industry, Letourneau, a trained chef, said he wanted to try something different. While the hours have been long and irregular in order to ensure the doughnuts are fresh when the shop opens at 7 a.m., he’s enjoyed the creativity. While he’s already doing different takes, he’s waiting for things calm down a little before diving into really weird, unique varieties, including possibly some savory doughnut options. Doughnuts for dogs are also something he’s considering.
Bellingham doughnuts through the years
In recent years Bellingham doughnut shops that put their own stamp on the process developed strong followings. Rocket Donuts was around 15 years before closing in 2019. Johnny’s Donuts near Bellingham High School also had a solid base of customers, operating from 2011 to 2018.
Looking back further in The Bellingham Herald archives, while there were plenty of well-loved bakeries in the city over the years, there doesn’t appear to be many stories written about doughnut shops in Bellingham. There was a Winchell’s Donuts in Sunset Square in the 1990s, but advertising at the time suggests Winchell’s, grocery stores and LaFeen’s were the other places supplying the city with many of the doughnuts in the 1980s and 1990s. Given the competition of locally owned grocery chains like Haggen, Ennen’s Food Store and, Brown & Cole at the time, fresh-baked goods appeared to be one way to try and bring in shoppers.
JoJoe’s appears to be ready to add to that history of Bellingham doughnut shops.
“We’re still just figuring this out, but it’s been great,” Dutton said. “Right now, the sky’s the limit.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
