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By Eleanor Tolbert – Reporter, Louisville Business First
Oct 14, 2022
A bakery franchise is opening its second location in East Louisville.
Duck Donuts has plans to open a second shop in Middletown Station. It will be taking up a 1,500-square-foot unit in a new two-tenant building on the property — the other tenant being Playa Bowls.
The bakery is known for its made-to-order vanilla cake doughnuts, allowing guests to customize their dozen with their choice of toppings. Jeff Penn, owner of Duck Donuts in Louisville, said the store also serves doughnut breakfast sandwiches and partners with Comfy Cow to offer ice cream.
The first Duck Donuts location opened in February 2021 in Shelbyville Road Plaza. Hagan Properties manages both the plaza and Middletown Station.
The new location is anticipated to open in spring 2023. Penn said Louisville has been very receptive to the first location and figured Middletown was a good fit for a second.
“We liked the area,” Penn said. “It was easy working with the same landlord as we already have … and it checked all my boxes with being close to an apartment complex, Target, Walmart.”
Penn also said the franchise is looking to pull more customers from further outside Louisville in Oldham County. Being close to the Gene Snyder Freeway with the new Middletown location permits that.
Ground has been broken on the new buildings. Penn said the contractor on the project is Tom Boucher with Bravo Construction. The architect has yet to be determined.
He declined to disclose the total investment into the project. He said constructing the building from scratch has been more efficient, as the business has a blank canvas to work with.
Penn will be looking to hire about 40 to 50 employees closer to the new storefront’s opening. Penn owns all the Duck Donuts in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, and he’s interested in opening at least one more in Louisville. After the Middletown Station location is complete, however, he said his next store will likely be in Lexington.
Russ DiGilio, founder and CEO of Duck Donuts, launched the brand in 2007 in the town of Duck in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It now has over 100 shops nationwide.