Donut Forget To Read This!

Landis+Supermarkets+Eagles+donuts+for+the+Super+Bowl.%0APhoto+Taken+Feb.+10.

Lauren Gunning

Landis Supermarket’s Eagles donuts for the Super Bowl. Photo Taken Feb. 10.

When you purchase a donut, you often expect a fresh pastry item consisting of sweet fried dough, colorful icing, and a wide variety of toppings or fillings. However, many bakeries do not always deliver this expectation creating a hot topic debate for who has the best or worse donut. The wants and needs of a donut come down to a few categories: freshness, prices, flavors, toppings, fillings, textures, sizes, and of course, the icing on top. Many bakeries sort their options of donuts into two main categories. Classics could include options such as glazed, chocolate frosted, and vanilla frosted, and specialties such as Chocolate Thunder from Yum Yum Donuts, and holiday themes from locations like Dunkin’ and Giant. When surveying Pennridge students on the most important part of a donut, the majority answered that freshness is their top concern. Truly, there is nothing worse than being excited about your sweet treat, only to bite into a stale, crunchy donut.

Donuts around Perkasie can be purchased from multiple local spots, specifically Giant, Wawa, Dunkin’, and Landis. Giant is conveniently located right across from Pennridge High School, making the store a readily available option for Pennridge students and staff. Giant donuts are usually fresher, more available on busy days, and much more flavorful than Dunkin’ Donuts, yet they remain an underdog of the donut world. In addition to donuts surrounding the Perkasie area, Wawa in Dublin and Souderton are popular morning stops for quick coffee, breakfast, and lunch. Wawa’s donuts are kept in small plastic bags and often disregarded in a usual customer’s order. In reference to Wawa v. Giant in this donut battle, Armand Omurzakov, a past employee at both establishments, said, “Giant had more variety to take, and I liked the different kinds. Wawas only had a few types of donuts, and they are stale.”

Right across the street from Pennridge High School is the very popular Dunkin’. Dunkin’ often gets more traffic from Pennridge customers than compared to Giant from the benefit of having the mobile order app and drive-through to increase consumer convenience. Students, staff, and other workers often go through the Dunkin’ drive-through to get their daily coffee and breakfast or pastry items. In reference to what changes could be made at Dunkin’ to improve the donuts, past employee Haleigh Balbi said, “I would have them be fresher and have more each day so we don’t sell out of most popular ones so fast.” Dunkin’ used to be known as Dunkin Donuts but recently removed the “donuts” from their name to be seen as more than a donut shop. They now offer items such as bagel bites and avocado toast, quickly taking charge of the menu. With Dunkin’s attempts to expand its menu options, its donut variety, quality, and availability have quickly decreased, making them one of the less preferred donut choices for the Pennridge population. However, Dunkin’s convenient location and ability to have customers remain in their car while still getting their preferred order in a quick drive-through keep customers coming.

If you are up for a little bit of a drive for more unique donut shops and flavors, Yum Yum Donuts, located in both Quakertown and Colmar, are known for their “Monster” and “Big Kahuna” donuts that are often purchased for birthday parties, and other group events. Yum Yum offers over 50 types of freshly made donuts daily, a variety of donut holes called “Yumsters,” and specialty coffees to pair perfectly with your morning donut. Another popular location requiring a longer journey is Duck Donuts, which is located in either Collegeville or Allentown. Duck Donuts is a made-to-order donut shop offering customers the chance to pick every part of their donut from the flavor of base, icings, drizzles, and as many toppings as they may please. If you can’t choose one, they have a list of fan favorites and workers’ creations. Many enjoy watching the dough fired in front of you and the worker completing your order just right.

Sources:
https://order.duckdonuts.com/menu/duck-donuts-allentown-053
https://order.online/store/yum-yum-bake-shops-quakertown-2634922/?hideModal=true&pickup=true&utm_source=sdk&visitorId=6d9f0187785196c342ae14
https://www.dunkindonuts.com/en/mobile-app