DARLING DOUGHNUTS
Spa City shop quickly becoming a downtown favorite
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Local business Darling Doughnuts is now open in the Spa City, where it’s getting an extraordinary reception from doughnut-lovers seeking a sweet treat.
The new doughnut shop, located at 441 Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs, made its debut on July 29 and has been quickly selling out of product each business day since.
The shop, co-owned by Darling Doughnuts founder Natascha Pearl-Mansman and business partner Glenn Severance, was originally expected to open in the spring.
Though the opening date was delayed due to the pandemic, customers seem to think that Darling Doughnuts was worth the wait.
In its first couple days, the shop sold out of doughnuts within two hours.
By the end of its first week, the doughnuts lasted until about noon.
As the business approaches its two-week mark, afternoon hours are still quite rare.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” said Pearl-Mansman, who said the shop makes about 1,000 doughnuts a day.
The Darling Doughnuts staff is super busy beginning at 4 a.m. each day, but so delighted with the doughnut shop’s immediate popularity.
“I don’t think any of us really anticipated the response, especially with COVID and everything, that so many people would come out and wait in a big line to get doughnuts,” Pearl-Mansman said.
What’s drawing crowds out — even during a pandemic — is the shop’s’ brioche yeast-raised doughnuts, which come in a total of 50 flavors.
Each week, the shop features 10 different flavors.
One of the most popular varieties, included on the menu every week, is the Galaxy Glazed, a celestial swirled “not-so-vanilla” vanilla glazed doughnut with sparkling sugar stars.
Another fan favorite and menu staple is the Churro doughnut rolled in cinnamon sugar and drizzled with cayenne-spiced dark chocolate.
In addition to the fullsized doughnuts, Darling Doughnuts sells mini doughnuts and doughnut holes as well as fritters, a new product.
Currently there is a quantity limit of a dozen fullsized doughnuts or two mini samplers per customer.
To go with the doughnuts, hot coffee, iced coffee, tea and some bottled beverages are also available at the shop.
Darling Doughnuts was originally established in 2018 by Pearl-Mansman, who primarily built the business by doing pop-ups throughout the Saratoga Springs, Glens Falls and Lake George region.
At these events, Darling Doughnuts was consistently selling out, too.
Around the time that Darling Doughnuts had maxed out its production capacity at its former commercial kitchen space, Severance contacted Pearl-Mansman about wanting to open a doughnut shop.
Severance, a local native who recently returned to the area after living in Brooklyn, along with his wife Hellene London, had a longtime dream of starting a doughnut shop - but neither of them made doughnuts.
So, after noticing the buzz around Darling Doughnuts, they reached out to PearlMansman. Before long, plans were underway to open Darling Doughnuts’ first brick and mortar location.
Looking ahead, PearlMansman said her goal for the future of Darling Doughnuts is simply to keep making awesome doughnuts.
“It’s been amazing just to see the growth over the last two years,” she said. “When I was doing it all myself it was one thing, but now that we have a whole team of people working together it’s just really incredible to be able to share it, the whole experience, with other people - and we hope people continue to want to have great doughnuts.”
To keep up with demand, Darling Doughnuts hopes to eventually increase its daily quantity of doughnuts.
The shop is likely to start taking pre-orders in the future as well.
Darling Doughnuts is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 9 a.m. until the doughnuts are sold out.
Most events for 2020 have been canceled, but PearlMansman anticipates doing off-site pop-ups again whenever possible.
Catering is available for parties. Consultations, which should be held at least 30 days in advance of the event, can be booked online.