Doughnut shop gets new life
New owners do away with zombie theme, revive business as Casual Friday Donuts
Joe and Amber Owens bought the former Dawn of the Donut and have changed the concept and the name. Now called Casual Friday Donuts, the business is at 3402 N. Division St. The Owenses, who also own Celebrations Bakery, are aiming for a family-friendly feel at the doughnut shop. (Colin Mulvany)Buy a print of this photo
The zombies are gone.
So are the black-lined windows, broken display case and blood-red handprints and footprints, which once crawled across the ceiling.
When new owners took over Dawn of the Donut, they did away with the gore and ghouls. The short-lived zombie-theme doughnut shop now sports a family-friendly, uncluttered modern-vintage look, extended hours and new name: Casual Friday Donuts.
“We’re really excited about the changes,” Joe Owens said. “We are definitely focusing all of our energies on the doughnuts as opposed to zombies.”
Owens bought the cozy, corner doughnut shop in mid-September with his wife, Amber Owens. The couple also own Celebrations Bakery, which has two locations – in Spokane’s Garland District as well as Spokane Valley. She manages their shops while he runs the restaurant and bar at the historic Davenport Hotel.
They saw the doughnut shop “as an opportunity to expand our current business environment,” Joe Owens said.
The couple – East Valley High School sweethearts who have two children, ages 6 years and 6 months – opened their Garland bakeshop in 2010, followed by the Valley location last November. He’s worked for the Davenport in different capacities for more than 10 years and has a business degree from Eastern Washington University.
They liked the doughnut shop at 3402 N. Division St. for its drive-through, parking lot, high visibility and easy access off of Spokane’s main north-south thoroughfare.
Dawn of the Donut opened in August 2013 with lots of hype, selling more than 2,000 doughnuts in five hours.
“The zombies didn’t have anything to do with the failure of the business, but they became the focus – and all the hype was gone,” Owens said. “It was a cool novelty, and the novelty wore off.”
Some customers criticized the shop on its Facebook page and other online review sites as being a knockoff of Portland’s famed Voodoo Doughnut.
“We felt the zombie theme was more a distraction to the business. It became more about zombies than great-quality doughnuts,” Owens said. “We got rid of a lot of the mess. We’re definitely going for – nothing against the zombie thing – appealing to the masses.”
The shop stayed open during the recent – and ongoing – remodel, which features a new paint job and reclaimed wood counter with a granite top. It’s still transitioning from its undead decor. But the new look will be a little retro and a little farmhouse shabby chic, done in black and gray with wood and chalk accents.
The Owenses also plan to add an outdoor seating area with strings of lights and umbrellas, new branding, old-school Edison-style light bulbs and different kinds of doughnuts.
“We’re definitely focusing on gourmet quality,” Joe Owens said.
So far, new doughnut offerings include a Persian cinnamon roll and fried croissant with or without raspberry filling. The old zombie doughnut is now a green and blue homage to the Seattle Seahawks’ 12th man.
The Owenses have also updated the shop’s baking schedule, making more batches throughout the day to yield a fresher product. They’re planning to sell some of the doughnuts at their Celebrations locations as well as offer scones, biscotti and espresso at the doughnut shop.
Casual Friday Donuts is open 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. But, depending on how business goes, Owens said, “We’d love to be open later.”