NC-13 Small Business Spotlight: The Donut Shoppe
Franklin County is home to The Donut Shoppe, a Louisburg staple where every single donut on the menu, glazed, filled, sprinkled, or fritter, sells for the same price. Owner Glenn Nodine wants it that way on purpose.
“I don't want them to feel cheated when they look at the price and then they walk out with a different price,” Nodine said. “People have really embraced that, and they just love it.”
The shop's day starts long before Louisburg wakes up. Nodine and his team are in at 1 a.m. making donuts from scratch, and the doors open around 6:30 a.m. to a line of regulars, including one gentleman who shows up early every morning for two glazed, without fail.
“We always open early for him,” Nodine said.
Regulars are the heart of the place. Another regular stops in once a month, orders a single donut, and leaves a $20 bill on the counter.
Nodine makes his own blend, his own glaze, and his own frostings, and he swears by glazing the donuts the moment they come out hot. The bestseller is, and always has been, the classic glazed.
“We will sell 10 trays of glazed donuts to any three trays of anything else,” Nodine said, though the shop's pink sprinkled donut and his homemade maple frosting have their own loyal following. Nothing goes home stale, either. Whatever doesn't sell that day gets donated to shelters, local churches, and other organizations around town.
The shop has never spent a dime on advertising, growing 10 to 12 percent a year on word of mouth alone. Nodine still hosts field trips for local kindergarten and elementary classes, letting kids sprinkle their own donut and sending them home with a story to tell.
“The customer is our only advertisement,” Nodine said. “The customer is always the most important person in the room.”
Like many small businesses, The Donut Shoppe has felt the impact of the Working Families Tax Cuts. Customer generosity has become a meaningful part of his employees' pay.
“That's been very helpful for them,” Nodine said, adding that no-tax-on-tips has made a real difference for his team.
For Nodine, though, the mission has always been simple: quality, cleanliness, speed, and value for the customer, delivered by a small team that cannot afford to get an order wrong twice.
“We may not look like the Ritz,” Nodine said, “but we act like it.”
The NC-13 Small Business Spotlight is designed to highlight wonderful small businesses and people serving our district. If you know of a great place to feature, please reach out to Congressman Knott’s communications team at isabela.schandlbauer@mail.house.gov.