Donut O Rama Opens In Old Town
OLD TOWN — There’s a new doughnut spot along Broadway at the border of Old Town and The Pearl in downtown Portland.
Located at 435 NW Broadway, Donut O Rama’s neighboring retailers include a metroPCS, the also newly-opened Broadway Cannabis Market and a passport photo and fingerprinting service.
Specializing in custard-filled crème brûlée beignets, which cost $4.50 and are fried-to-order in cottonseed oil (and serve hot right out of the frier, so wait a few minutes for it to cool), Donut O Rama opened in mid September.
In addition to its beignets and a rotating selection of traditional classics (long john, glazed, apple fritter, all starting at $1.50), Donut O Rama also plans to eventually offer a “chef doughnut” every month through a partnership with local chefs, owner Greg Slauson told Pipeline.
“Savory [doughnuts] will be later, with breakfast specials,” Slauson said.
For those who prefer washing their doughnut down with beer rather than the current drip coffee, Donut O Rama also plans to have beer and bottled cold brew nitro coffee soon.
According to its Yelp page, Donut O Rama originally opened as a pop-up food cart in 2011 at 10th and Alder and that the goal was always to open a brick-and-mortar “fryer.”
“Simply put we are some donut loving [sic] fools. We want to be Portland’s next donut contender,” owner Slauson told Yelpers.
The food cart closed in spring of 2012, Slauson told Pipeline.
On a recent afternoon, Old Town resident Candee Wilson ordered a crème brûlée beignet and sat at a table to enjoy the treat.
“The filling and the caramelized cover on it, it was really good. I haven’t had one like that before, so it was different and being freshly made and warm, I really liked it,” Wilson said.
Wilson had been anticipating the shop since she saw the “coming soon” signs.
“Even though it’s not exactly Old Town, it’s close enough that anything that opens up around here is welcome very, very much,” Wilson said.
Donut O Rama’s hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday- Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Ph: (503) 227–6074. For more info, check out its website and Facebook page.
