Downtown has a new hip and upbeat spot in town that San Diegans are buzzing about. The cupcake was so 2005, but the doughnut is what’s trending now.
The Donut Bar located on B Street, is the new place to be at.
The Donut Bar is not your typical dull doughnut shop, but an old school coffee shop with a retro twist.
From their popular Meyer Lemon donut and their Crème Brûlée, to their spontaneous flavors like the Maple Bacon Bar and the Blood Orange, and old fashioned classics like Vanilla Bean Raised Glazed and the Cali Bear Claw, locals just can’t get enough of them.
Every doughnut is individually handcrafted into a delicious and unique gourmet pastry and served to sweet tooth lovers.
Each morning a line forms outside, with people checking the Donut Bar’s Facebook daily menu, waiting to buy one of these mouthwatering doughnuts and a cup of coffee or tea.
“My kids love them,” a customer said to the cashier. “They can’t get enough of them.”
The Donut Bar is also the only place in downtown that offers a “buck a cup” coffee with a variety of coffee brands like decaf, Colombian Supremo and Full City Roast. They also sell espresso shots for those who need that extra boost of energy and a diverse selection of teas.
There is also has a lounge area upstairs where people can chill, hang out and kick it. There is free WiFi, a bar height community table, leather chairs in the corner, coffee house music playing, T.V. displaying the news channel and an open balcony to get the city vibe.
Servers go upstairs to refill customers coffee mugs so that customers can experience the old school coffee shop vibe. Currently the lounge is under construction, but will be available during the fall semester.
When the shop sells out of a specific type of donut, they go outside and cross it off the bar’s menu and update their Facebook page to notify their customers and Facebook fans. Once they are sold out of donuts completely, the shop closes.
After closing, all the staff members come together and develop a newly designed five to six doughnut menu for the next day, also incorporating flavor suggestions from Facebook fans.
At 11 p.m. each chef, with a 5-star hotel background, comes in and prepares the donuts for the next morning. But sometimes at night, when bar crawlers are in desperate need of a doughnut, they open the shop for them so that they can get one of the shop’s famously scrumptious doughnut.
The shop’s owners, Santiago Campa and Wendy Bartels, were both inspired by Top Pot and Dough, two popular gourmet donut cafés in New York. They felt that Southern California was missing out on the doughnut trend and wanted to bring that experience to Southern California.
“Don’t let your coffee shop memory be at a franchised coffee house,” Campa said. “Get the best doughnut in town and create college memories to tell your kids when you get older.”
Campa and Bartels are both very outgoing, down to earth and humorous business owners. They greet and chat with everyone that comes into their shop. They also hired David Mondragon, a City College student, to design and paint the logo outside their shop.
The Donut Bar is the only doughnut shop in downtown and makes 1,500 to 2,000 donuts per day, and sell nearly 1,400 donuts in four hours. While a typical donut shop prepares a batch of donuts in one minute and sells 800 donuts per day.
“We use all the good stuff,” Campa said. “People get their value in here.”
The original doughnuts range from $1 to $3.
They are opened Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to around 2 p.m.
For more information on the Donut Bar’s doughnuts and their daily recreated menu, visit there Facebook page at Facebook.com/DonutBar.
