The Donut Inn will celebrate the grand opening of its second location in the Harris Teeter shopping center at the corner of Porters Neck Road and Market Street on Monday, June 1.

Owners Allen Renquist and Matt Anlyan said in a statement that after three years of serving locally roasted coffee, bagels, breakfast sandwiches and handmade donuts at the Military Cutoff location, they are excited to bring The Donut Inn’s offerings to a new neighborhood.

Renquist and Anlyan said they selected Porters Neck because of the area’s rapid growth and customer feedback.

The new location was originally scheduled to open in early April; staff had been hired and owners say they were in the final stages of preparation when the executive orders limiting restaurant service started coming in.

With new information coming in daily, Renquist and Anlyan decided to postpone the opening and focus on keeping the doors open at their current Military Cutoff location.

Fortunately, they said, they have been able to stay open continuously without having to furlough any employees other than those that had been hired for the new location. Now, thanks to financial stimulus package, those employees are back on board and gearing up for opening day.

“It’s still a crazy time to open a restaurant, but in this industry there’s really no such thing as perfect timing,” Anlyan said.

Renquist and Anlyan said that in developing the new location they looked for ways that they could make adjustments to the layout of the store that would provide for a better customer experience.

“We like to think of it as Donut Inn Generation 2.0,” Matt Anlyan said. “Same great food, better customer experience.”

Donut Inn now offers online ordering and orders can be picked up curbside for those who choose not to enter the buildings. Anlyan said his staff is also wearing masks and gloves, sanitizing regularly and monitoring social distancing.

“Opening a new place always has its challenges, even without the current situation,” Anlyan said. “It’s going to be crazy at first but there are always a lot of lessons that come out of it.”

Donut Inn will offer customers one free glazed donut for stopping in on opening day.

The Porters Neck Donut Inn is at 208 Porters Neck Road and will be open as of Monday, June 1 from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week. 

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