Spudnuts are not just any doughnut. Spudnuts are fresh, delicious donuts made from potato flour. Berea’s Spudnut Donuts became one of the first franchised dealers in the nation in 1949 and is one of the few original Spudnut shops remaining. The parent company no longer exists, but there are only a few independent franchise shops left – with two in Ohio. One in Berea, and one in Mentor.
Bob and Al Pelton were looking for a recipe that would make a better doughnut and started experimenting with potato dough in 1946 at their doughnut shop in Salt Lake City, Utah. They came up with a combination of ingredients that included mashed Idaho potatoes, mountain grown wheat flours and spices from all over the world. The result was a consistently light, fluffy, tender potato doughnut with a unique delicate flavor.
I grew up one town over from Berea, and everyone always raved about Spudnuts. I’m sure I ate my share of spudnuts back in the day. To this day it remains my favorite doughnut. The location moved three times in the past – from Front Street to Riverside Drive and now to Prospect Road.
The Spudnuts in Berea always has a throughly stocked counter. Whenever I have gone to the one in Mentor (no matter what time it is) it is always fairly bare with a serious lack of fun doughnuts. I prefer a yeast doughnut, but even Spudnuts cake doughnuts are moist and delicious – unlike most other cake doughnuts (no coffee for dunking needed here!).
I love a good glazed doughnut, but the custard and jelly filled doughnuts are also a treat. I bought a huge box for my girlfriends in St. Patrick’s Day in March and they were a huge hit. They loved the sprinkles.
Contact info:
Spudnut Donuts (Berea)650 Prospect Street
Berea, Ohio 44017
(440) 234-4249
Spudnuts Shoppe (Mentor)
6930 Center Street
Mentor, OH 44060
(440) 255-7257