The hopes of some Detroiters are crumbling after the city’s only vegan donut shop has called it quits after just a few years of sweet success.
Founded in 2020 by Eastern Market Brewing Co., Dooped Donuts made vegan donuts at a nearby commercial kitchen and sold them by pre-order, at events, and a brick and mortar it opened in 2022 on Broadway in downtown Detroit. In June, Eastern Market Brewing Co. opened another Dooped Donuts location in its new taproom and pizzeria Elephant & Co. in the Cass Corridor.
Dayne Bartscht, Eastern Market Brewing Co. founder, said the company made the decision to pause the donuts after the lease ended at its downtown shop and amid low traffic at the Elephant and Co. location.
The team was making approximately 1,500 donuts each week in classic flavors like chocolate with sprinkles, as well as more eclectic flavors like strawberry basil. But ultimately, the core Eastern Market Brewing team’s heart wasn’t in it, he said.
“Last year we realized we had just gotten very, very complicated…we (Eastern Market Brewing Co.) started as a brewery in 2017 and really that particular team’s passion is craft beer, so we decided collectively, ‘let’s focus as much attention as we can on beer,’” he said. “It’s tough because it’s very loved by our team, and even more loved especially by the vegan community.”
The spot is among the latest vegan eateries in Detroit to shut down over the last four years. Chili Mustard Onions, Nosh Pit, Aratham, and the West Village location of Detroit Vegan Soul all have closed. In 2022, Street Beet announced it would “permanently close” but reopened with regular hours in 2024. Street Beet sporadically sells donuts at its Midtown location (including pączkis for Pączki Day) as well as Livonia-based Toi’s Caribbean Baking Co. at Eastern Market’s Saturday markets.
The current demand for vegan food products in the food industry appears mixed. The global vegan donut market is expected to more than double by 2033 yet national vegan meat brands like Beyond Meat have experienced significant declines in sales in recent years. But other vegan staples remain. In Detroit, nonprofit VegMichigan hosts VegFest annually, featuring more than 100 vegan vendors at Eastern Market.
Detroit resident and vegan of eight years Stephanie Graham went to Dooped Donuts once a month, often taking friends and family who were visiting.
“They had great donuts you wouldn’t even know were vegan,” she said. “I’m sad to see another vegan place closing. Finding vegan bakeries, especially ones open for breakfast, isn’t easy and I’m going to miss Dooped Donuts a lot.”
Jessica Lum, former production manager at Dooped and a vegan, worked at the company for two years. She enjoyed the freedom, like creating new donut recipes, but said it was a lot of work to keep it going with dwindling support.
“Dooped had so much potential, and people really loved it and we saw support from the city,” she said. “But there was just no one within the greater Eastern Market Brewing Co. fighting for it anymore, and no one really trying to make it work and really trying to make it happen.”
But Shalyn Getz, who began working for Eastern Market Brewing Co. in 2019 as the innovation director, noted many challenges for the mostly part-time employees. Decreased foot traffic downtown due to COVID-19, the high cost of handmaking the donuts daily in a commissary kitchen with rates upwards of $25 an hour, and finding staff to work bakery hours all made operating difficult, she said.
“Everything was handmade and that can be a more difficult sell because the price point is higher,” said Getz. One donut from Dooped Donuts sold for $3.25-$3.75.
“It sucks, I’m really sad that this area of the business doesn’t exist anymore,” said Getz, emphasizing that it’s a challenge in general in the food industry to balance growth.
Bartscht said the company still has all the equipment and is talking about bringing the donuts back to the Ferndale Project, where it started.
“Dooped Donuts is paused for now, but you never know what will happen,” he said.