Article by Kyle Kovachik
Illustration by Alan Terrell
Photos by Fitz
In the commercialized world of breakfast, there are a few that strive to provide an excellent product with that custom touch only a locally owned business can provide. Starting up a brick-and-mortar shop is no easy task, even for business veterans who had went through this process before. As Chuck Fogle, co-owner of Dough Joe’s, will tell you, “It takes hard work. A lot of hard work.” Significant other and fellow owner Mary Kelso helped put starting a doughnut shop in their sights. After finding their location at the oceanfront on 23rd Street, it was still an uphill battle dealing with the bureaucracy of VA Beach. Anyone who has started their own business will tell you, it is one of the more frustrating and morally deprivating processes out there. The owners navigated their way through countless forms, inspections, and other tedium inducing activities and managed to open their doors on July 29th last year.
Mary Kelso preparing doughnuts at Dough Joes
You may remember this entrepreneuring couple from the Seaside Cafe inside the Seaside Hotel on Atlantic Avenue; they brought a forgotten restaurant back to life and gained a loyal fan base comprised of both locals and vacationers. After their success, heavy news came down as the hotel housing the restaurant was scheduled for demolition. Considering their cafe a success, the duo decided to parlay their chances with yet another shop.
Co-Owner Chuck Fogle
As any person who has spent time in the area will tell you, Dunkin’ Donuts is the predominant doughnut provider of Virginia Beach. The couple saw this as an opportunity and Dough Joe’s was born. Despite the difficulties innate to starting a doughnut shop, they managed to pull off, in my opinion, with extraordinary results. To come to this conclusion, I enlisted the assistance of a good friend and set out on the doughnut trail. The shops we stopped at included Bliss Bakery, Crazy Good Donuts & Ice Cream, and Duck’s Donuts. If anyone has a couple hours to kill and the desire for a killer sugar rush, hit these places up and let me know if you agree with evaluation below. If you can, do what I did and bring someone along for moral support as you will invariably reach a breaking point where another doughnut will induce diabetic coma.
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For more on The Bonbonnier and their delicious hand made chocolates visit their facebook HERE or click the ad above!
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For posterity, all doughnuts from all establishments were plain glazed. Bliss Bakery, which came highly recommended to me, put out a good product that is light and airy but did not seem as fresh as some of the other places. First impression of Crazy Good Donuts & Ice Cream is their mascot. This wild eyed doughnut man is the thing of nightmares. Part of me wants to see it eradicated from this Earth while the other part wants to see it irradiated in true Godzilla fashion for an epic battle royale over the the streets of Japan. Crazy Good has a cooked to order format that guarantees a fresh doughnut (note: that this does not guarantee a good doughnut). The mush pile received was by far the lowest on the list at the end of the day. Rounding out the road trip was Duck’s Donuts with their ever-consistent product. Their ordering process, which includes a paper and pencil method, is eerily similar to Crazy Good’s. I wonder if there is some sort of connection there or one of them saw a good method and replicated it. Their doughnuts have an outer crispiness to them that led me to believe that they have a higher oil temperature than other places. This gives their doughnuts a sweet, almost burnt flavor due to the sugars in the batter being caramelized.
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For great craft beer, Lynnhaven oysters, chef demos and much more check out this upcoming event HERE or click the flier above.
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At the top of the sugar summit lies Dough Joe’s, who offers the superior doughnut out of the competition. They make everything in house, featuring a classic line of doughnut favorites with off-the-wall specialties and seasonal recipes (Eggnog doughnut… yes, please). The doughnuts are lightweight, not thick or mealy like national chains or some of the places that we sampled prior. Now, I’m not aware of a “Nicest Owner” award but if it was out there, both Mary and Chuck would definitely be perennial contenders. If there is some crazy doughnut concoction that you have had bouncing around your noggin since childhood, they’ll make it for you.
You’re probably wondering who this “Joe” guy is, then. Sadly, there is no Joe ― luckily, however, Joe refers to the coffee that they serve. Doughnuts and coffee, what more could you ask for? How about some house made sandwiches (which they even offer to deliver to the oceanfront area)?
Dough Joe’s hasn’t been around long enough to make the impact on the area that they deserve to but I have no doubt that they will. One thing is for sure, for those lucky enough to have eaten there in the little over a year that Dough Joe’s has been open, they have become the answer to the “where to get doughnuts from” question.
Side Note: Is it doughnut or donut? Well, both are acceptable. Doughnut was the original spelling with the donut variant emerging in the 18th century but not gaining popularity until the 20th century. Being more of a traditionalist, I chose doughnut. But who cares, use whichever you want.
Visit Dough Joes website HERE
Visit them on Facebook HERE
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