ARUNDEL, Maine — The Holy Donut is bringing its specialized treats and affection for nostalgia to Arundel.
The company, which has shops in Scarborough, Portland and Auburn, hopes to open its fifth location, at 1181 Portland Road — the site of a former seafood business, ice cream shop and church — in the spring of 2022.
“We’re excited to be moving to Arundel and about how supportive the community is,” Ryan Howe, the company’s director of business operations, said Tuesday. “It’s been absolutely fantastic. We couldn’t be more appreciative.”
Howe said a Holy Donut is set apart from other doughnuts elsewhere because “riced” potatoes are used as a substitute for a portion of wheat flour when making them.
“You get that nice, fluff, airy texture,” he said.
Howe said the company does everything it can to avoid using allergens for their doughnuts — no peanuts, he noted, and limited soy. In fact, 85% of the company’s products are vegan, with no dairy in them, he said.
“We have a line of gluten-free products, and they’re delicious,” he added.
Striving for nostalgia
The Holy Donut may serve tasty treats and organic, free-trade coffee from Wicked Joe Coffee in Topsham, but what drives the company is nostalgia, according to Howe.
Howe said he looks back fondly on his childhood, when he and his grandfather would hop into his truck and go get doughnuts. Howe said he could not remember which kind of treats he and his grandfather would get, but, more importantly, he cherishes the memories of those doughnut runs.
“That’s what we try to capture in our doughnuts,” Howe said. “That’s what we strive for every single time.”
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Keys to creating that nostalgia are a clean environment, a “friendly and upbeat staff that works hard,” and doughnuts that are freshly fried, colorful and “crunchy on the outside and soft inside,” according to Howe.
“We focus on all the senses,” Howe said.
What’s the plan for Arundel?
The Arundel site is proposed to have three components: a commissary, where the dough, glazes and gluten-free products are made; an office; and, of course, a drive-through, walk-up retail shop where customers can get their fixes.
Howe said the company had its site walk with Arundel Planning Board members on Monday. On Tuesday, the planning board was expected to approve the company’s application for a final vote next month.
Leigh Kellis founded The Holy Donut 10 years ago. She is now a minority owner, and her brother-in-law, Jeff Buckwalter, is the lead owner of the business.
Kellis shares the history of her enterprise on the company’s website.
“The idea for The Holy Donut grew very organically out of a craving I was experiencing for some deeply satisfying yet healthy comfort food — specifically, a doughnut,” she wrote. “I knew a chain version would just not cut it. I wanted a doughnut made with fresh ingredients that I could feel good about eating. Since I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I decided to create it myself.”
The not-so-secret ingredient
Kellis knew she wanted to make doughnuts from scratch, “using as many local ingredients as possible.” In 2011, she started experimenting with doughnut recipes in her kitchen and, after “some trial and error, came up with a winner.”
The not-so-secret ingredient, as she put it: fresh Maine potatoes — the “riced” ones mentioned above.
“Adding mashed potatoes gives the doughnuts a delicious, moist texture that makes them just melt in your mouth,” Kellis said.
Kellis touted her recipe to companies such as Coffee By Design, bringing her samples wherever she thought they could sell.
“Within a year, I had a wholesale doughnut business on my hands,” she said.
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That business grew enough that Kellis was working long hours, calling in her father to help, and producing up to 100 dozen doughnuts each week — all done out of a “small, shared commercial kitchen space.”
Eventually, she wanted to take her enterprise even further. She wanted to open a doughnut shop of her own.
“That was my dream,” she said.
And that’s how The Holy Donut came to be.
Howe said on Tuesday that the Sweet Potato Ginger Glazed Donut is his own personal favorite.
“I tell everyone who’ll listen about it,” he said.
Hands down, though, the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Donut is the company’s best seller, Howe noted.
“It hits all the pleasure centers,” he said.