{"id":238825,"date":"2016-11-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/destination-of-a-lifetime\/"},"modified":"2016-11-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T07:00:00","slug":"destination-of-a-lifetime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/destination-of-a-lifetime\/","title":{"rendered":"Destination of a lifetime"},"content":{"rendered":"

Por Morgan M. Hurley | Editor<\/p>\n

Donut Bar owners are finding themselves increasingly on the rise<\/strong><\/p>\n

In March 2013, Santiago Campa and his longtime partner in life, Wendy Bartels, opened up a humble but festive little doughnut shop on B Street in Downtown San Diego. They called it Donut Bar.<\/p>\n

\"(Courtesy
(Courtesy the artist \u2013 Mike Fugoso \/ Instagram @fugstrator)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first day it opened, the line to get in the door was all the way down the street and around the corner. Since then, it is a rare day if they will have any doughnuts left by noon. Their 35 doughnut varieties are presented 22 at a time on a daily basis, with 10 of those what they call their \u201csolid core\u201d and the rest on rotation.<\/p>\n

Their unique flavors, coupled with their whimsical decorations and quality products, have made them a staple in a metropolis that before their arrival hadn\u2019t even seen a doughnut shop, let alone supported one.<\/p>\n

But as 2013 went along and word continued to spread about this unusual new little doughnut shop in Downtown San Diego, the awards started trickling in.<\/p>\n

Soon, the local awards began piling up and before long, the national awards also began to arrive. It seemed every time they turned around they were a favorite on some internet or travel site contest and suddenly they were nationally known. People came from across the country \u2014\u00a0and the world \u2014\u00a0to check out their fare.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really love the social media aspect of running a small business in this day and age,\u201d Campa said to those gathered at a recent Six Degrees networking group lunch.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s doing something right there, too, because nearly 32,000 people follow their Facebook page, which posts their menu on a daily basis, shares photos of luscious doughnuts and whatever else is happening on Campa\u2019s calendar \u2014 which he says is always filled to the brim \u2014 on any given day.<\/p>\n

Their latest social media playground is Instagram \u2014 where they have more than 54,000 followers \u2014 and its new app, Instasnap.<\/p>\n

\"Chef
Chef Santiago Campa with one of the fruits of his labors in front of Donut Bar on B Street. (Photo by Jeff Clemetson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While he admits he was never professionally trained as a pastry or bakery chef, Campa, aka \u201cChef Santiago,\u201d wears his white coat with pride. As he should. He cured his kitchen passions during a decade in the five-star hotel industry, including the Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and Grand Hyatt. Then he spent another eight years racing motorcycles, before one day realizing his calling was in the baking industry.<\/p>\n

Bartles, who spent time in catering, had also owned her own business for 25 years, giving her the acumen she needed to handle such an upwardly mobile, popular brand.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the couple bought out the Robek\u2019s Juice space next door and expanded, adding not only ice cream \u2014 with a doughnut cone, of course \u2014 but beer to the menu.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew we had to expand the space to make more doughnuts,\u201d Campa said. \u201cSometimes we were selling out at 9:30-10 o\u2019clock in the morning, and it was just because our production was so limited.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said while a 30-percent increase in doughnut production just wasn\u2019t enough to justify the build out, they began kicking around ideas. Campa said his first thought was ice cream.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I looked at the numbers and not just the numbers, I looked to see what people wanted,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you know what? People love beer.\u201d<\/p>\n

So they shifted gears and added 24 taps \u2014\u00a023 of local craft beers and one rotating \u201cout of towner\u201d \u2014\u00a0and kept the ice cream idea, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cYep, we have a doughnut ice cream cone,\u201d Campa mused. \u201cWe fill it with vanilla soft serve \u2014\u00a0and not just any soft serve \u2014\u00a0we fill it with Madagascar vanilla bean ice cream and sprinkle caramel on top. People can\u2019t wait to get to the doughnut.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"They
They now have 24 beers on tap, served Friday and Saturday nights from 5\u201311 p.m. (Photo by Jeff Clemetson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While they still cater to their morning crowds, since expanding, they now also turn the music and vibe up a notch on Fridays and Saturdays, with a second shift from 5\u201311 p.m., when Donut Bar turns into a hipster-style joint where fresh doughnuts and beer are both on tap.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor all the young parents out there, it is now a place where you can bring your kids and belly up to the bar, so to speak, and enjoy a fun atmosphere,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can have a beer and your kid can have a doughnut, ice cream, or chocolate or strawberry milk on tap.\u201d<\/p>\n

After opening with just two employees in 2013, they currently top out with a staff of nearly 30 today, who help them run not only the B Street shop but also all the weddings and special events they are in such high demand for. On Dias de los Muertos alone, they made 1,000 doughnuts in the shape of sugar skulls for Sycuan Casino. Bartels did six weddings Halloween weekend and Campa said she could have easily done 20.<\/p>\n

\"With
With 35 standard varieties and 22 presented per day, Donut Bar has a “core 10” that are always the same with 12 that rotate daily. (Photo by Jeff Clemetson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With all this activity, business is definitely booming, but the only way you can really tell Campa is richer is by the Lamborghini he parks in front of the B Street location. His personality hasn\u2019t changed a bit, despite the fact that less than three years after opening, the Donut Bar brand has continued to explode \u2014 so much so that later this month, Campa is heading to San Francisco to be honored as one of Yelp\u2019s 100 Top Business Leaders in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, I don\u2019t even have words for it,\u201d Campa said. \u201cIt is absolutely amazing. I don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to be able to grasp just how important it is, or the magnitude of the award, until I get there and I\u2019m able to meet with these other 100 business leaders from around the country and speak with the owner of Yelp one-on-one.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to expanding the inaugural store, Campa and Bartels also opened a storefront in downtown Las Vegas this year \u2014 which matches their decision to only open \u201cdestination locations\u201d in the future \u2014 will be profiled on Animal Planet\u2019s \u201cTanked\u201d show later this month.<\/p>\n

In 2017, they will be ramping up things even more, with 50 destinations across the U.S. that will be incorporated into a franchising plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely challenged my above-average organizational skills I think, but I\u2019m still rising to the challenge,\u201d Bartels said about Donut Bar\u2019s success. \u201c[Campa] always wants to set the bar higher, so I just try to keep up with things organizationally.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it opened, Donut Bar, was making 2,000 doughnuts per day. Today that number is 3,000 per day during the week and up to 4,000 on Fridays and Saturdays, not counting special orders.<\/p>\n

\"In
In less than three years, San Diego’s single location Donut Bar has amassed a huge, nationwide following. (Photo by Jeff Clemetson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe most rewarding thing is seeing it all work,\u201d Bartels said. \u201cI\u2019ll go home and read some Yelp reviews, or when I walk through the restaurant, people will stop and thank me and tell me they had a wonderful time with their family and that they came to San Diego from Ohio just to go to Donut Bar and the other things in San Diego. It\u2019s a very nice feeling when you realize you\u2019ve created something special for nice people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campa agrees that it is the community that has helped them get this far; he and Bartels may be guiding it, but their support has given the brand a life of its own.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why we call it San Diego Donut Bar. It belongs to the community,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t think the hug could get any stronger, but San Diego just keeps holding us tighter and tighter all the time and we\u2019re right there to give the love back to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow them on Instagram @DonutBar.<\/p>\n

\u2014Morgan M. Hurley puede ser contactado en morgan@sdcnn.com.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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