There will be a hole in the heart of Gainesville potato doughnut lovers until late October.
Halo Potato Donuts closed Sept. 19 for a five-week hiatus to prepare for its move to a brick and mortar location next month.
The new location, at 1323 South Main St., will include a storefront shop functioning solely as a kitchen, along with its old electric blue truck parked outside as a mobile store.
Since it opened last September, Halo Potato Donuts has operated out of a shared commercial kitchen — a concept owner Drew Stuerman, 24, describes as an “Airbnb for kitchens.” Stuerman has owned and operated the business since it opened.
“For the past six months, we’ve been searching for a location that we can have our own kitchen and not have to share with anybody else,” Stuerman said.
During the hiatus, Stuerman said he will install equipment for the shop, repaint the new space and develop new doughnut flavors.
Some tentative fall-themed flavors include pumpkin spice and apple cinnamon crumble, he said. The business hired a full time baker who has helped develop new flavors.
“We’re still playing around with our dark chocolate sea salt that we’ve been working on for like a year now,” he said.
Stuerman describes potato doughnuts as light like yeast but dense like cake. He said he often compares the texture of the doughnuts to that of a Martin’s Potato Roll.
“It holds its moisture really, really well,” Stuerman said.
Stuerman, a 2018 UF business alumnus, launched Halo Potato Donuts after noticing the need for a local, independent doughnut shop in town.
While a UF senior, he paired his business skills with his desire for quality doughnuts in Gainesville and began testing potato doughnut recipes, he said.
He said he brought the concept from his hometown in Ohio, where he grew up around old-school doughnut shops.
“I was just used to it every time I went home over break. I was like, ‘Man, I wish I had something like this in Gainesville,” Stuerman said.
Stuerman said a visit to his truck not only involves buying a product, but “continuing a conversation.”
“It’s as if you’re going and sitting down at a 1960s mom-and-pop doughnut shop where literally the owner knows you, and has a conversation with you and knows your kids,” Stuerman said.
Kenneth Tran, a 27-year-old pharmacist, said that while he’s disappointed by the temporary closure, he’s excited about the truck’s expansion.
“I wanted to get some for my coworkers to try out, but now I’ll have to wait,” Tran said. “And probably won’t be getting donuts from anywhere else now that I’ve had Halo donuts.”
The new location at 1323 South Main St. will include a storefront shop functioning solely as a kitchen, along with their old electric blue truck parked outside as a mobile store.
