After a year and a half spent executing “a modern take on the traditional art of street food” by selling organic hot dogs from their Kosiner Brothers Hot Dog Cart at the entrance of the Water Street Market, brothers Jed and Brock Kosiner have undertaken a new business endeavor — a doughnut shop.
“Everyone thought we were going to do hot dogs [here],” Jed Kosiner said, as he stood in his new doughnut shop: Doughnut.
The store, a 7×13 cottage at the edge of Water Street Market, is just feet away from where the brothers set up their hot dog cart.
“We decided pretty much right away that we weren’t going to be doing hot dogs out of here because the cart is what our hot dog business is,” Jed said. “That kind of inspired us to go in a completely different direction.”
Jed said that a lack of doughnut places in the area — sans Dunkin’ Donuts — partnered with the growing trend of “hip” doughnut shops across the country inspired the brothers to pursue the new venture.
Because of its small shape and orientation near the entrance of the market, Jed said he sometimes sees the new store resembling an information booth.
Jed and Brock take all orders through a sliding window that they built shortly after they began construction on the location in July. The installation of the window saves customers the hassle of sifting through 91 square foot “closet,” and Jed said it allows the brothers the space to turn out their homemade doughnuts.
“When we went into this, same thing as the hot dog cart, we wanted to make everything from scratch,” Jed said. “My brother and I are kind of particular with food, like we don’t eat fast food, we’re very conscious of organic meat and no antibiotics. So with both businesses that was our strong goal: to produce stuff we would eat.”
Jed said he arrives at the store at 8:20 a.m. every day to get the oil heated in preparation to make between 10 and 12 dozen doughnuts for the day. Although Doughnut is technically open until 6 p.m., the brothers said that they close once they sell out of doughnuts — typically between 4:30 and 5 p.m.
The maple bacon doughnut and Sriracha glaze doughnut are the most popular among customers, Jed said. Other flavors include: vanilla glaze, chocolate and cream, cinnamon, strawberry, root beer and gluten free doughnuts on the weekends. Each morning, the brothers choose five flavors to sell for the day.
“We are constantly flipping flavors,” Jed said. “We’re constantly messing around and trying different things out. A lot of sampling.”
Jed said the two will begin to tinker with the idea of apple cider donuts because so many people have been asking for it since the store opened on Oct. 23.
Jed plans to have a grand opening for the store sometime soon. In the more distant future, Brock said he’s given thought to possibly taking food on the road.
“We own the hot dog cart, so I guess future plans would be to take this on the road at some point, start doing gigs out with this as well, maybe a mobile unit,” he said.
But for now, the store is in its “infancy stage.”
“[We’ll] just go with what people want,” Jed said.