A rendering of the planned expansion. (Photo by Burl Rolett)
With a second shop scheduled to open in a week, a local doughnut maker has plans to expand its flagship store in Carver.
Sugar Shack Donuts has submitted plans to add indoor and outdoor seating to its location at 1001 N. Lombardy Ave., adding a sit-down restaurant component to its popular grab-and-go bakery.
“The initial intent from the day we opened was to have tables and chairs in here, but the city wouldn’t let us because of zoning,” said Sugar Shack owner Ian Kelley. “Right now, it’s just strictly walk in, purchase donuts and coffee, and walk out.”
The plans call for a 12- or 16-seat outdoor patio raised about two feet and limited seating inside the store, seven parking spaces and a few landscaping elements. Kelley also plans to build a walkup window facing the patio that will offer a limited menu of some of Sugar Shack’s more popular items.
Ian Kelley
He hopes the outdoor order window will help alleviate some of the traffic inside during peak hours by getting regular customers who don’t need to see a menu in and out more quickly.
“We definitely have people come in and say ‘I want six glazed donuts.’ They know what they want, and they never vary,” he said.
Sugar Shack’s special-use permit for the expansion is scheduled to go before the city planning commission Monday, with a City Council review scheduled Feb. 10. The 0.1-acre parcel at the corner of Leigh and Lombardy streets is zoned R-7 Residential, which does not typically permit a restaurant use.
Kelley would like to get construction going as soon as the project is approved, with hopes of completing the work by the time the weather warms up. City planners said they have not received any opposition to Sugar Shack’s application.
Kelley would not estimate what the project will cost, saying he is not sure whether he will be able to do the work himself or will need to hire a contractor.
On a good day, Sugar Shack sells about 5,000 doughnuts, Kelley told BizSense in December. The popularity of the seven-month-old pastry purveyor prompted the addition of a downtown location that will have more of a coffee shop feel.
Kelley plans to have the location open at 1110B E. Main St. by the end of next week. Employees are being trained for the second branch at the Carver location in hopes of a smoother opening than the original location experienced in June.
On the heels of a Krispy Kreme opening in Chesterfield that drew 700 people in five hours, Kelley, said he expects crowds similar to the mob that packed his first location when Sugar Shack debuts downtown.
“I keep trying to convince myself that’s not going to happen, that I’m just going to very quietly open the doors,” Kelley said. “I think it’s going to be one of those things where I decide to open the doors, somebody sees it on the street, and they’ll put it on Twitter or Facebook. And all chaos will break out from there.”
A rendering of the planned expansion. (Photo by Burl Rolett)
With a second shop scheduled to open in a week, a local doughnut maker has plans to expand its flagship store in Carver.
Sugar Shack Donuts has submitted plans to add indoor and outdoor seating to its location at 1001 N. Lombardy Ave., adding a sit-down restaurant component to its popular grab-and-go bakery.
“The initial intent from the day we opened was to have tables and chairs in here, but the city wouldn’t let us because of zoning,” said Sugar Shack owner Ian Kelley. “Right now, it’s just strictly walk in, purchase donuts and coffee, and walk out.”
The plans call for a 12- or 16-seat outdoor patio raised about two feet and limited seating inside the store, seven parking spaces and a few landscaping elements. Kelley also plans to build a walkup window facing the patio that will offer a limited menu of some of Sugar Shack’s more popular items.
Ian Kelley
He hopes the outdoor order window will help alleviate some of the traffic inside during peak hours by getting regular customers who don’t need to see a menu in and out more quickly.
“We definitely have people come in and say ‘I want six glazed donuts.’ They know what they want, and they never vary,” he said.
Sugar Shack’s special-use permit for the expansion is scheduled to go before the city planning commission Monday, with a City Council review scheduled Feb. 10. The 0.1-acre parcel at the corner of Leigh and Lombardy streets is zoned R-7 Residential, which does not typically permit a restaurant use.
Kelley would like to get construction going as soon as the project is approved, with hopes of completing the work by the time the weather warms up. City planners said they have not received any opposition to Sugar Shack’s application.
Kelley would not estimate what the project will cost, saying he is not sure whether he will be able to do the work himself or will need to hire a contractor.
On a good day, Sugar Shack sells about 5,000 doughnuts, Kelley told BizSense in December. The popularity of the seven-month-old pastry purveyor prompted the addition of a downtown location that will have more of a coffee shop feel.
Kelley plans to have the location open at 1110B E. Main St. by the end of next week. Employees are being trained for the second branch at the Carver location in hopes of a smoother opening than the original location experienced in June.
On the heels of a Krispy Kreme opening in Chesterfield that drew 700 people in five hours, Kelley, said he expects crowds similar to the mob that packed his first location when Sugar Shack debuts downtown.
“I keep trying to convince myself that’s not going to happen, that I’m just going to very quietly open the doors,” Kelley said. “I think it’s going to be one of those things where I decide to open the doors, somebody sees it on the street, and they’ll put it on Twitter or Facebook. And all chaos will break out from there.”