Why: Thirty-seven years ago, Phil Pomeroy opened the Donut Nook. Do the math: that was in the 1970s. Although the world around the Donut Nook has changed in the many years since it opened, step inside and everything remains just as it was, from familiar faces, to the original ’70s style décor, and last but not least, how the donuts are made: “By hand, like they’re supposed to be,” says Pomeroy. Pomeroy has seen other donut shops come and go, and vows he’ll “still be here when Krispy Kreme goes away.”
Atmosphere: Retro is an understatement. The atmosphere at the Donut Nook is straight out of the ’70s. Macramé plant holders and lots of plants, wood-paneled walls, and furniture you can only find in secondhand stores, perhaps even a petrified crumb or two and a few original coffee mugs — it’s definitely a blast from the past. I wouldn’t define it as necessarily “old-style” so much as it just hasn’t changed. The Donut Nook simply hasn’t given in to modernization and its patrons like it that way.
What I tried: I picked up two dozen assorted donuts, which were divided about evenly between raised and cake varieties. I was sure to visit on a Friday morning when sticky buns, cinnamon stacks and cinnamon rolls were available. Cherry fritters are an exclusive item, so I included a few of those, as well as old-fashioned buttermilk bars, plain and frosted cake donuts, basic and cinnamon twists, maple-frosted bars, raspberry-filled glazed, chocolate-frosted chocolate cake, and a sprinkled.
Unlike the apple fritter, which has bits of fruit in it, the cherry fritter didn’t have the fruit incorporated. The flavor came from cherry-flavored syrup that was folded into the dough. The fritter imparted less fruit flavor than an apple fritter, but it was delicious all the same.
