EAST COBB, Ga. — Most would agree – donuts are delicious. But you haven’t truly lived until you’ve eaten one fresh, still warm, and dripping with homemade icing. That’s exactly what Duck Donuts has on a daily basis – customizable, made-to-order, melt-in-your-mouth donuts.
“As my relatives in Pennsylvania would say, ‘forget about it.’ It was complete bliss,” Michael Cicco, an East Cobb resident, said shortly after trying his first Duck Donut. “I ate it in three bites. I'm probably going to have to look it up and see if there's a sugar support group.”
Cicco was one of many people purchasing donuts Thursday afternoon, less than a week after the shop opened. Andrew Doring, owner of the East Cobb location, says over 100 people were waiting in line when the shop opened Saturday, including one couple who made sure they were first in line.
“Friday night after training, we were closing down. We locked the doors getting ready to go home and all of a sudden we see two people walk up to the door,” Dorng said. “We thought they were going to try to walk in, then they turned around and put out some chairs. They had lawn chairs, and they sat out there. We went out to talk to them and they said they were staying the night. I did not really believe them, because it was supposed to rain that night. I come back the next day at 6 a.m. and there they are. They had two air mattresses right on the sidewalk passed out. They stayed all night to be the number one customer.”
Their overnight efforts paid off. The couple won free donuts for one year, by being the first customer. Their winnings only allow them to get one donut a week, but it’s still a considerable savings over the course of a year.
Doring says the decision was made to open the shop in East Cobb, because of the family atmosphere.
“We did a whole search looking for the best spot and we landed right here in Marietta in the East Cobb location,” he said. “It's a great family-friendly atmosphere in East Cobb. We know there's a lot of schools, a lot of kids, a lot of families all looking to have a nice warm delicious donut.”
He says people are fascinated by the process of customizing their own donuts, then watching them be made. Past that, getting to eat the fresh treats is just “the icing on the cake.” Or, in this case, the donut.
“It's the whole experience,” Doring said. “You come in and smell the aroma. You got the sugar and the donuts, all of that. The coffee is brewing. You come in and that's the first thing you smell. Then, you get to watch the donut being made, watch them drop, watch them cook, watch them top. The experience is what people come here for, on top of the donuts.”
In addition to their donuts, which have countless topping combinations, Duck Donuts also offers ice cream sundaes – served atop a warm donut. They use donuts as the base for breakfast sandwiches!
“The sweet and savory is to die for,” Doring said.
The East Cobb location of Duck Donuts is open Sunday through Thursday from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. The shop stays open one extra hour on Friday and Saturday.
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