Our intention was to make an honest living while being mindful of people and respectful of the environment. We weren’t interested in producing anything that would just end up in a landfill or contribute to the pollution piling up in the world. Experiencing the Northwest culture, the burgeoning organic food movement, and sharing thoughts with our friends and community, we were inspired to create an organic donut. We couldn’t find anyone making a donut the way we envisioned. A sweet treat with no chemicals, no genetically modified organisms, and no animal products—something everyone could enjoy.
The organic market was still young and growing, and it complimented our innate values. With the little seed money we had, we bought a donut machine and a computer. Computers were big back then. We researched recipes, and cooked up many batches of organic treats in the basement of a vintage craftsman house in Seattle, there the Mighty-O was born. Our first donut was a vanilla cake cinnamon & sugar mini-donut, still a classic and customer favorite today. We sampled hot minis to friends and neighbors who in turn fueled our passion. After many hours spent experimenting with our recipe, we sold our first mini at Seattle’s University District Street Fair in May 2000.
Without a commercial kitchen we pursued street fairs, festivals and the Fremont Sunday Market, all in Seattle. That first year, rain or shine, the Sunday Market became our regular venue. In the fall of 2001 we set up in a shared kitchen and started baking daily for wholesale deliveries around Seattle. Our first delivery van was a 1967 Dodge A100 van. It was cool.
In 2003 we opened our own bakery/cafe in Wallingford’s historic Keystone building. Having our own place has allowed us to engage more with our unique community and acts to further our values and beliefs. We give public tours ranging from preschoolers to seniors, espousing the values of organic foods. We donate to non-profit organizations, hospitals, schools, and food drives. To support the arts, we dedicate wall space for monthly exhibitions of local artists. In the kitchen we continue to be on the leading edge of organic vegan baking producing all of our own donut mixes and glazes from scratch using organic ingredients, and adding to our selection; organic apple fritters; organic maple bars; and other yeast-raised treats. As a sustainably minded bakery no donuts are thrown away, instead we donate our extra donuts to non-profit organizations, and compost all food waste. Our growth has been consistently positive through the years. We started out with small crew and have grown to include over 30 employees. We owe our success to our hard-working employees and our community who grow and share in our excitement about organic foods, great coffee & donuts.
