Bakers Dozen Donuts Opens in Auburn
Article by Jeff Jones | KPC News | November 11, 2022
AUBURN — When she found out her location was once a bakery, Baker’s Dozen Donuts owner AndiJo Clark knew she was where she was supposed to be.
“I couldn’t be any happier with the way the community has supported us,” she said. “My favorite part is when the kids come in.
“We want to create a special place for kids and families to come in,” Clark said. “They can stand at those little step stools and see us making the batter. We put all the kids’ popular flavors down low so they can see.”
The cozy business has a kid-themed seating area, complete with tiny chairs and table, with “Donut Grow Up” painted on one of the brightly colored walls.
“I lived in Allen County and I was driving my kids up here to get on the bus in DeKalb County because we really loved the school system,” Clark said. “There was a gap of time between first grade bus pickup and preschool bus pickup and there really wasn’t any great pop-in place for me and my preschooler to stop in to grab something that she likes and I like.
“We’ve always loved doughnuts,” she said. “It was something that just started, ‘Man, wouldn’t it be great to open our own doughnut shop in Auburn?’
“It just evolved into, ‘What would it be? What would we do? What do we want to have?’ Then, I started thinking, ‘If I’m going to do this, where would I want it?’”
Clark has a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, with a focus on special events but admits she doesn’t have a secret recipe or even a background in baking.
“I’ve always wanted to own something. I’ve always wanted to have something, to be established somewhere,” she said. Clark, her husband and family moved to DeKalb County in 2018.
Since that time, they began researching and putting their ideas together. “It’s been evolving into a real business for a long time, and then, we were just waiting for a location to open up and to have a sign that it was the right thing,” she said.
They closed on the building at 212 N. Main St., opening Sept. 30 during the DeKalb County Free Fall Fair.
“It’s actually less about doughnuts and more about people and experience and the atmosphere,” Clark said. “The thing I love about doughnuts; it’s $1.50 for a doughnut.
“It’s a traditional experience that can be modernized in a lot of ways,” she said. “The automated fryer was really appealing. It made it so we didn’t have to know a lot about making doughnuts; you just had to know about running a business.”
Almost every doughnut at Baker’s Dozen is of the white cake variety with a hole in the middle. “We have lots of flavored icings, which is a really fun,” Clark said. While the most popular options are vanilla, chocolate, maple and glazed, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar and white sugar are also popular.
The menu also includes fun options such as maple bacon topped with bourbon-flavored caramel, strawberry with Fruity Pebbles, lemon blueberry and the classic Homer Simpson pink icing with sprinkles. If that isn’t enough, at Baker’s Dozen, additional options include white icing with ground up Oreo cookies and chocolate icing with chocolate chip cookies.
“We tell everyone when they come in, the case looks like it’s a little thin on what your options are, but the good thing is we can literally ice and top anything you want,” Clark said. The business also offers chocolate cake and gluten-friendly varieties. The gluten-friendly doughnuts are made with GF dough and icing but fried in the same oil as the other varieties.
“You can have a hot, fresh doughnut from when we start making the batter in about 15 minutes,” she said. Customers wanting large numbers of doughnuts are asked to call ahead.
“The big piece for me was little cake doughnuts: 2-1/2 inches, two or three bites, you don’t have to share them. They’re not big like when you go to the office and you have to cut them into fours,” she said. “They fit in a box, they’re really cute and they’re great for kids and grownups.”
While the business is open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and from 8 a.m. to noon Sunday, Clark said her plans are to be open whenever there is an event happening in the downtown area. Her goal is to add morning hours Thursdays and Fridays.
Clark immediately knew she was in the right place.
“This used to be a bakery,” she said. “That’s why we named it Baker’s Dozen. I was originally going to name it Downtown Donuts so you knew where it is and what we’re selling.”
A patron shared the history of the location, including one who was fondly remembered for selling day-old doughnuts for a dime each out the back door.
“There’s lots of history,” Clark said. “Even the lady at the bank, when I went to get my debit card, she said, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re that doughnut person that’s going to open that spot. I remember my mom taking me to the back door when I was a kid, it was such a treat to come to the back door of the bakery and get day-old doughnuts.’
“Having that moment made it feel like the right spot,” she said. “That was my big sign that I’m supposed to be right here.”
The business can be found on social media at Baker’s Dozen Donuts 13 on Facebook and Instagram and online at bdd13.com. The business can be reached by phone at 572-9544.
Article source: https://www.fwbusiness.com/fwbusiness/article_067d1937-2e48-58ac-b717-f9c1974eded7.html