“What does Delaware need? We need a fun doughnut shop,” said Jeni Reida, who with her husband, Carl Reida, recently opened The Dipped Donut at 256 S. Sandusky St.
The couple, who live in Delaware County, have run the Super Wash & Tan next door for 18 years. They also own the building and decided to convert some extra space they were using for storage.
“We wanted to do something fun,” Jeni Reida said from behind the counter, about a month into opening the shop on June 11. “So, we started working on this project about a year and a half ago. It took us 18 months of research and development to come up with this recipe.”
“The reason it took so long is we did it all ourselves, from the hardwood flooring to the framing, the painting and everything in between,” said Carl Reida near the end of a busy morning.
“We did all the work here — this is all us, the cabinets, the countertops. Everything here is our love,” Jeni Reida added.
Unlike other places that sell specific kinds of doughnuts, The Dipped Donut offers “made-to-order” doughnuts with whatever icing and topping you select. For example, one of the popular selections has maple icing and is topped with crumbled bacon.
“No combination is too crazy or wild for The Dipped Donut,” the store’s website states.
“We have hundreds of options we can make, literally,” Jeni Reida added.
In addition, there is a flavor of the week for the cake portion of the doughnut. The Reidas said there is standard vanilla, along with chocolate, blueberry, carrot cake, apple pumpkin and lemon flavors.
“Everything is fresh. We don’t keep any doughnuts,” Jeni Reida said. “If we have any left over, they will be donated.”
With a day’s notice, The Dipped Donut can also cater parties, showers and weddings.
So far, business has been good, and the shop employs a dozen people.
“The response has been awesome, incredible,” Jeni Reida said. “Everybody loves it.”
“We’re not a franchise, we’re a Mom and Pop shop,” Carl Reida said. “I wanted to put that on our window — Mom and Pop certified. People say they like that.”
Jeni Reida said The Dipped Donut will soon put up a monument sign and has future plans to hold birthday parties in-store and employ an autistic person. They also do a “random act of kindness” for businesses providing top-notch service.
“Carl and I do a lot of campaigns, and typically, they can be found on Facebook,” Jeni Reida said. “Right now, we are doing a Bless a Business Donut Campaign. All someone has to do is go to our website and fill out our contact us form and tell us how a local business went above and beyond. We are trying to promote giving back to the community and allowing people to share stories about good customer service.“