{"id":236127,"date":"2013-04-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-05T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/a-donut-bar-rolls-into-downtown\/"},"modified":"2013-04-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-04-05T07:00:00","slug":"a-donut-bar-rolls-into-downtown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/a-donut-bar-rolls-into-downtown\/","title":{"rendered":"A Donut Bar rolls into Downtown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Small batch artisan donuts are filled with 100 percent love<\/strong><\/p>\n

Morgan M. Hurley | Downtown News Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Move over cupcakes, there is a whole new game in town. On March 23, Donut Bar opened for business at 631 B Street and not only is it the only known donut shop in Downtown San Diego, it sells \u201cartisan donuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The modest new enterprise, situated on a busy Downtown street directly across from Copley Symphony Hall, opened to much anticipation and fan fare on its first day the owners say, simply because this is not any ordinary old donut shop.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Eager customers waiting in long lines on Donut Bar’s opening day to purchase their unique donuts. (Photo by John Agee)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In fact, the methods used by co-owners Santiago Campa and Wendy Bartels are quite the antithesis of traditional donut making.<\/p>\n

Starting at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. on Saturdays, Sirius radio\u2019s \u201cCoffeehouse\u201d station greets customers, the aroma of San Diego Coffee and Spice products fill the air and the donut choices are like those you\u2019ve never seen.<\/p>\n

The options change daily and range from cr\u00e8me brulee, bacon chocolate maple, Meyer lemon blueberry, chocolate espresso, Julian fritter, and strawberry cheesecake, to name just a few.<\/p>\n

There is no Chinese food, candy or cigarettes here, just great coffee and even greater donuts. They have no set closing time; the \u201cbar\u201d stays open until every last donut is sold, which is usually mid-day.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A box of hand-dipped or individually glazed donuts await a customer. (Courtesy Donut Bar)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At night in the same small space, there is a different kind of activity happening, when Campa said the staff is busy working the production line. They are zesting lemons, crushing hazelnuts, stirring batter and glazing, among other tasks, in a full-on exhibition kitchen that is visible from the street between the hours of 10 p.m. \u2013 3 a.m. He invites people to come see for themselves.<\/p>\n

Campa said the couple have dismissed the advice of countless others \u201cin the industry\u201d who\u2019ve all counseled them on what it takes to run a donut business and save both time and money; such as acquiring a glazing table, using larger mixers and weighing each donut. Campa said they flatly refuse to comply and have good reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cA glazing table is a big metal contraption you stick into a big vat of glaze and within 10 seconds you can glaze 40 donuts. Then you\u2019re done, you walk away from them and they are up on the shelf. Zero percent love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campa\u2019s method depends on the donut, but he said the process is the same \u2013 individual attention \u2013\u00a0whether it is hand-dipped or pitcher-poured.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach [donut] gets that special touch and energy, with 100 percent love,\u201d he said. \u201cI literally get goose bumps just thinking about it. We get the nice effect that we really truly want. If we\u2019re charging $3 for a donut, we better give them the best damn donut we can get.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
The topping of a creme brulee donut being individually crystalized by a pastry chef’s torch. (Photo by SDcnn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not all Donut Bar donuts are $3. Their raised donuts \u2013 which are easily twice the height of standard raised donuts \u2013 are much less and Campa said some should probably cost a lot more, like the bourbon maple bar. An entire quart of bourbon, heat-condensed down to about 1\/3 cup, goes into each batch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m looking for and what we\u2019ve achieved is a donut where you bite into it and you taste maple, then as you\u2019re chewing it and you\u2019re exhaling, those hints of bourbon enliven your senses and that\u2019s a good donut,\u201d Campa said.<\/p>\n

He said their mixing machine is a mere 20 quarts, compared to the industry standard of several 80-quart mixers or larger. Having just one 20-quart mixer ensures small batches and Donut Bar produces between 1,200 and 2,000 donuts per day. Those numbers vary, he said, because the offerings vary and they are still doing lots of experimenting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must be doing something right because we are selling out every day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With the help of social media \u2013\u00a0the Donut Bar Facebook page already boasts over 1,000 followers \u2013 they were able to generate quite a buzz prior to opening by releasing tidbits of information and making the most of photos to generate appeal. A \u201cdonut sampling\u201d advertised on Facebook a few days prior to their grand opening turned out such large crowds, Campa said it became an unexpected \u201ccrash course\u201d and he was worried it might turn his staff away, but it didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Their creative pastry chefs like to experiment with color. (Courtesy Donut Bar)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Campa said he could not be more pleased with the five employees he brought on board after an extensive search for baristas and pastry chefs, including one who has done time at several five-star establishments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really got the best of the best,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are professionals and they understand the level of service we are trying to ascertain, how to plate something and make it look presentable, and that we\u2019re going for with the quality ingredients.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and Bartels said they believe in treating their employees well, and have offered them a good salary, creative flexibility, bonuses and lots of appreciation.<\/p>\n

The couple, who said they only snuck in about 40 hours of sleep their first week of business, also work right alongside their staff every step of the way; in the kitchen all night, doing sales and service all morning, and of course, juggling all the other responsibilities that come with owning a business.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Menu options change daily at Donut Bar. On this Saturday before Easter, business was good. (Photo by SDcnn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They use their Facebook page to advertise the day\u2019s menu items, show off new flavors, field customer feedback and even to ask for new flavor ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe past week has been a whirlwind,\u201d Bartels said. \u201cBut we\u2019re already seeing regulars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the naysayers, both in the industry and in their new neighborhood, Campa and Bartels said if this first week in business has been any indication, they have a winning product.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur biggest backlash has been the running out of donuts,\u201d Campa said.<\/p>\n

That seems to be a pretty good problem to have.<\/p>\n

Donut Bar is located at 631 B Street in the Core area of Downtown. Follow them on Facebook\/DonutBar for daily menu offerings, specials and other surprises.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Small batch artisan donuts are filled with 100 percent love Morgan M. Hurley | Downtown News Editor Move over cupcakes, there is a whole new game in town. On March 23, Donut Bar opened for business at 631 B Street and not only is it the only known donut shop in Downtown San Diego, it […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":236128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"A Donut Bar rolls into Downtown","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11600,11550],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-236127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-sdnews","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}