Superhero themed pastries, maple bacon Long Johns and experimental beer doughnuts: Hurts Donut Company has it all and much more when it comes to doughnut flavors.
In just a matter of weeks, the Springfield, Mo., based company, which offers customers what co-owner Kas Clegg described as “25/8” access to a plethora of gourmet doughnuts, will open its first Iowa location in Coralville.
“We serve whimsical doughnuts,” Clegg said. “You’re going to find doughnuts in our store that you would never see anywhere else.”
Tyler Howard, co-owner of Hurts Donut Company’s franchise location planned for the former Mendoza Wine Bar space at 1301 Fifth St. #105, said the doughnut shop should be ready to open by early to mid-October.
Howard and fellow co-owners — his girlfriend Paige Arthur, brother Kyle Howard and sister-in-law Cyndi Howard — grew up in the Quad Cities area and, as die-hard Iowa Hawkeyes fans, felt Johnson County would make for an ideal location to pursue their plans of opening a franchise.
“We’ve always loved the Hawkeyes and the Iowa City feel and the lay of the land, so if we could have made it happen anywhere, Iowa City and Coralville is where we wanted to make it happen,” Howard said.
Rumors of an Iowa City/Coralville Hurts Donut Company began circulating back in August with a Facebook page for the future doughnut shop — which has since accumulated nearly 2,400 likes.
An official building permit for refinishing the former wine bar was issued Wednesday by Coralville’s Building Department.
Howard said minor renovations will be needed to transform the former wine bar into a doughnut shop, which will employee between 25 to 50 part-time employees.
For those unfamiliar with Hurts Donut Company, Clegg, her husband Tim and business partner Scott Bussard started the doughnut shop less than two years ago in Springfield, Mo., and the company has since opened stores in Norman, Okla., and Wichita, Ks.
Coralville will be the company’s fourth location.
“It’s really exciting, we had no idea how much our business was going to grow,” Clegg said. “When we first opened our store we had $7 dollars in our bank account, we just crossed our fingers and it turned into a million dollar store in one year.”
Clegg added that with that success, the company has maintained a high priority on becoming involved in their communities and donating to charities — Hurts Donut Company has donated more than $70,000 to local charities since the company was founded.
Howard said there is no doubt Hurts Donut Company will do the same here.
“That’s kind of getting the feel of your community and that’s what we want, we want to be a part of Iowa City and Coralville,” he said. “It’s going to be fun.”
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/hurts-donut-company-to-open-in-coralville-20150917
In just a matter of weeks, the Springfield, Mo., based company, which offers customers what co-owner Kas Clegg described as “25/8” access to a plethora of gourmet doughnuts, will open its first Iowa location in Coralville.
“We serve whimsical doughnuts,” Clegg said. “You’re going to find doughnuts in our store that you would never see anywhere else.”
Tyler Howard, co-owner of Hurts Donut Company’s franchise location planned for the former Mendoza Wine Bar space at 1301 Fifth St. #105, said the doughnut shop should be ready to open by early to mid-October.
Howard and fellow co-owners — his girlfriend Paige Arthur, brother Kyle Howard and sister-in-law Cyndi Howard — grew up in the Quad Cities area and, as die-hard Iowa Hawkeyes fans, felt Johnson County would make for an ideal location to pursue their plans of opening a franchise.
“We’ve always loved the Hawkeyes and the Iowa City feel and the lay of the land, so if we could have made it happen anywhere, Iowa City and Coralville is where we wanted to make it happen,” Howard said.
Rumors of an Iowa City/Coralville Hurts Donut Company began circulating back in August with a Facebook page for the future doughnut shop — which has since accumulated nearly 2,400 likes.
An official building permit for refinishing the former wine bar was issued Wednesday by Coralville’s Building Department.
Howard said minor renovations will be needed to transform the former wine bar into a doughnut shop, which will employee between 25 to 50 part-time employees.
For those unfamiliar with Hurts Donut Company, Clegg, her husband Tim and business partner Scott Bussard started the doughnut shop less than two years ago in Springfield, Mo., and the company has since opened stores in Norman, Okla., and Wichita, Ks.
Coralville will be the company’s fourth location.
“It’s really exciting, we had no idea how much our business was going to grow,” Clegg said. “When we first opened our store we had $7 dollars in our bank account, we just crossed our fingers and it turned into a million dollar store in one year.”
Clegg added that with that success, the company has maintained a high priority on becoming involved in their communities and donating to charities — Hurts Donut Company has donated more than $70,000 to local charities since the company was founded.
Howard said there is no doubt Hurts Donut Company will do the same here.
“That’s kind of getting the feel of your community and that’s what we want, we want to be a part of Iowa City and Coralville,” he said. “It’s going to be fun.”
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/hurts-donut-company-to-open-in-coralville-20150917
