A new doughnut shop has sprinkled into Hermiston.
Married couple and co-owners, Kevin and Nita Reser, held their grand opening June 2 for the Hermiston Donut Shop at 1875 N. First St.
The couple opened their doors to customers offering a bounty of delightful flavored doughnuts including maple bacon bars, old fashions, Boston creams and apple fritters.
Kevin said they whip up between 1,000 to 1,500 doughnuts every night.
“We come to work at midnight and get off when we sell out or until close,” Kevin said. “The first few weeks we sold out every day. We are kind of a new thing in town. People want to try us out.”
In the shop’s back kitchen, the duo vibed to music and worked at separate stations.
Kevin kneaded, spread, cut, shaped and proofed large mounds of raw dough, while Nita buzzed back and forth between the fryer and the garnishment section.
Nita placed soft batter on a pool of sizzling oil and with lightning speed precision used a pair of wooden chopsticks to flip the dough until both sides turned to a soft golden brown crisp. She then transferred the pastries to their cooling racks and garnished batches with different glazes — chocolate, maple, fruity cereal, M&Ms, shredded coconut and other sweet assortments.
Kevin expressed owning the doughnut shop is a dream come true for Nita. A little more than a decade ago, she got her start on the glaze at her aunt’s doughnut shop. Kevin had some baking experience but began learning about how to make doughnuts about seven weeks ago.
Nita, who was born in Cambodia, said most Cambodians in her circle of friends own doughnut shops. For her it’s hard work and long hours, but it feels rewarding to run her own business.
All I talk about with my friends is about the doughnut shop,” Nita said smiling while pouring white glaze onto a large pile of doughnut holes.
The Pendleton couple met at their old job working table games at the Wildhorse Resort & Casino. Nita toiled between two jobs — card dealer at Wildhorse and server at Thai Crystal in Pendleton.
Together they saved and scraped up some money and got approved for a bank loan to get the doughnut shop off the ground.
“Opening this has been a dream come true,” Kevin said.
The coupleaslo expressed their gratitude to the people of Hermiston for their outpouring support.
Hermiston Donut Shop is available on Facebook, where you can keep up with the store’s hours and get the latest on any new flavors.
Great customer service. But when i went in there for the first time i paid over 8.00 for three donuts. To me that’s way too expensive!!
I fully agree with you! It was great service but I paid almost $30 for one dozen!!! I didn’t even get any fancy donuts like maple bacon bars which were $3.45 each which would have been $41 for a dozen!!! I LOVE donuts and they do make a great donut but I can’t justify that kind of price when a dozen at Safeway is around $10 and a dozen at Raes Days (Umatilla) is about $15… Hopefully the Hermiston shop can make a profit at lower prices because I just can’t afford to go there again.
Best buttermilk glazed donuts around and the owners are amazing people. Love supporting local business.
By far the best doughnuts in town. Way worth the money spent, ain’t nothing cheap any more so I’ll pay the extra for the best. Love supporting local businesses and supporting our communities.