Donut Crazy Doughnuts Now Available in Bridgeport's Black Rock Neighborhood

Jessica Ryan

I recently headed over to Donut Crazy’s newest location in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport with Jessica Grutkowski, owner of the Buzz Truck, who shared that she will be adding this local vendor to her offerings. While I fully admit I have never met a donut I didn’t like, these aren’t your typical donuts; they’re indulgent and decadent, and enormous!

As you step inside you’ll notice how physically different this donut joint is. Most don’t share a space with a Vietnamese restaurant, which in this case is the recently opened Nom Eez. So I asked Jason Wojnarowski, founder of Donut Crazy about this curious new home and this most unusual pairing, because as I saw it, Pho and donuts don’t necessarily go hand in hand. Wojnarowski, a builder by profession, was hired by Matt Storch (owner of Nom Eez) to renovate Match a couple of years ago. What resulted was not only a friendship but the current Pho-Donut partnership.

Wojnarowski isn’t a total stranger to the food industry. As the owner of two very popular Donut Crazy locations in Stratford and Shelton, he was looking to bring his business south, and the new shared location in Black Rock seemed to be the perfect venue. “We offer something all day - breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” Wojnarowski shared with me. As I looked around from where I was seated, I saw a steady stream of people coming in for their morning donuts, a few even sat down to enjoy a morning bowl of pho. This unique partnership offers neighborhood residents something that had been lacking, a great place to go in for donuts and great coffee as well as great Vietnamese cuisine. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the restaurant offers something for everyone.

The Black Rock location will offer about 15 different varieties. “We were going to make 2-3 different donuts every week and switch them out of rotation,” Wojnarowski told me, “But then people starting to catch on to those flavors and were getting upset about having them pulled out of rotation. It’s really hard to switch flavors out to bring new ones in.” So they now typically offer between 15 to 17 on any given day. Some of their flavors include: Bavarian Cream, Birthday Cake, Blueberry, Boston Cream, Butternut, Cruller, Devil's Food, French Toast, French Cruller, Glazed Old Fashioned, Powdered, Red Velvet, PB & J. Making an appearance in April are Today's Best Mix, Apple Pie, Peanut Butter Explosion, Dough Boy, Mud Pie, Mambo Italiano (Cannoli), Maple Bacon, Nutty Nutella, Keylime Pie, Apple "BOMB" and Samora.

I sampled The Dough Boy, filled with an eggless cookie dough it is insanely divine. The Samora - think Girl Scout Samoa cookie in donut form which was deadly (in a good way) and I couldn’t stop sampling it. The Keylime is indeed reminiscent of the pie bearing the same name and Today’s Best Mix is a must for those who love apple pie and anything apple. Perhaps, the one nearest and dearest to my heart, and my children, who are the real experts, was the Cannoli, or the Mambo Italiano. We hope this one never comes out of rotation. It is just as good as it sounds.

And since coffee and donuts pair perfectly together, locals will be able to find smaller versions of their donuts (they really are quite large) on the Buzz Truck including one specifically made for them. As we sampled some of the wonderful flavors available, Grutkowski told me how excited she was to learn about Donut Crazy. “When I heard they were opening a location in Black Rock I had to see what they were all about. I tasted a few and met Jason and knew that this was just the partnership we needed. We work with some great local vendors from Sweet and Simple, Dough & Co., Shearwater, and Planet Fuel, but what was missing was a true donut. It’s really important that we work with local vendors and embrace the community. I was getting a ton of requests for donuts but nothing seemed to fit the bill, until now.”

For more on where you can find your crazy donuts and coffee visit Donut Crazy at any of their three locations:

36785 River Road, Shelton, CT 06484 (on the green)

90 Main Street, Stratford, CT 06614 (across from the Sports Center)

2992 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06605

www.donutcrazyct.com

And visit the Buzz Truck’s website to see where their next appearance will be

www.thebuzztruck.com