By Rae Johnson, Louisville Courier-Journal
March 13, 2023

Project: Duck Donuts

Location: 13325 Station Rail Way

Description: Duck Donuts is a chain of beach-themed doughnut shops that started in Duck, a town in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Jeff Penn, owner of the local franchise, is planning a second Louisville-area location that will go into The Station at Middletown apartment complex. Penn opened the city’s first Duck Donuts at 4600 Shelbyville Road and decided to open the new spot after developer Hagan Properties gave him a tip about the potential opening in Middletown.

Penn said he looked at analytics, including the number of nearby homes and a traffic count, to determine if the move was worth. He hopes to get a “good draw” from nearby commuters in areas such as Crestwood, Shelbyville and Simpsonville.

The owner is confident about the opening despite the growing difficulty of securing construction materials and inflation costs for everyday materials needed to run a doughnut shop, like flour, butter and especially eggs.

Duck Donuts is known for its variety of options to customize treats with a coating, topping or drizzle. Doughnut lovers can build their own dozen for $21.95, build a single for $2.25 or choose from some of the menu’s unique options like the “sunrise” doughnut, with lemon icing and a raspberry drizzle, or the “sand dollar,” with vanilla icing with shredded coconut and powdered sugar. Penn’s personal favorite is a cinnamon sugar doughnut with vanilla icing.

The shop also offers breakfast sandwiches, coffee drinks and ice cream options from partner Comfy Cow. Penn said working with the ice cream shop owners was a match “made in heaven,” since they both dabble in sweets and have plenty of crossover in clientele.

Penn expects the new Duck Donuts location to be open by early summer.