Phil Santomassi began his career as a hospital administrator in Connecticut who stopped for coffee and a paper each morning at a run-down doughnut shop named the Donut Inn.

As his family grew, so did the number of hours he was required to put in at work. He dreamed of leaving his high-stress job behind, buying the doughnut shop and making it his own.

When he told his wife, Patty, this idea, they both questioned whether buying an old doughnut shop would allow them the financial security they were accustomed to. Yet for the sake of their family they knew it was a risk worth taking.

“I completely redid the shop, and it was making a profit in almost no time,” Phil Santomassi said.

After a number of years, the Santomassis received an offer to buy their doughnut shop, which they just couldn’t refuse. Plus, it coincided with their desire to leave Connecticut and move south.

The Santomassis operated Beach Bagels on Wrightsville Avenue for a couple of years, but what they really wanted to do was open a doughnut shop. Phil Santomassi knew that the only way to do it right was to convince his longtime baker from the Donut Inn to be a part of it. Once baker Cesar Gonzales was on board, the Santomassis sold Beach Bagels and set to work on building a new Donut Inn.

After a soft opening Friday, Donut Inn, 1427 Military Cutoff Road, is open with a full menu this week. In addition to hand-cut pure yeast donuts and cake donuts, Donut Inn serves homemade muffins, coffee rolls, crumb cake and pound cake. There is a full line of breakfast sandwiches served on homemade brioche rolls and jumbo English muffins, and there are breakfast burritos. A grab-and-go case will provide pre-made sandwiches and burritos for fast morning service.

Coffees, including a full line of espresso drinks, are available as well as six or seven lunch sandwiches, a soup and a chili of the day.

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