Ethan’s Donut Factory sells about 1,200 donuts every Saturday, according to Wayne Babcock. Alessia Sandala | Collegian
A new made-to-order donut shop, Ethan’s Donut Factory, opened in May in downtown Hillsdale on the corner of North Broad Street and McCollum Street.
In addition to serving donuts with names like Maple Bacon, Chocolate Bomb, and Coconut Peanut, Ethan’s will also offer coffee, baked goods, and ice cream. Each donut is prepared in front of the customer.
“The best thing about it is that we make all of our donuts fresh,” part-owner Wayne Babcock said. “So when you come in and order a Maple Bacon or a Blueberry Lemon or a Chocolate Strawberry, we actually make the donuts. We top them with fresh icing and the extra toppings right then and there. When you order you get to watch your donut be made.”
Employee Jillian Monahan said the donuts are distinct from average donut shop options.
“I feel like my favorite donut is Blueberry Lemon,” Monahan said. “I like the Blueberry Lemon because it’s something different from a lot of places.”
In addition to donuts, the shop offers coffee from Starbucks beans and ice cream from MOO-ville Creamery.
“We were fortunate enough to get Starbucks beans,” Babcock said. “We’re not a Starbucks franchise, but we try to order the Starbucks ingredients for the coffee we serve. We also have MOO-ville ice cream from Nashville, Michigan. It’s a local dairy farm that does all of our ice cream for us.”
Ethan’s Donut Factory also offers other sweet treats on its menu.
“We have a baker that comes in twice a week that makes fresh cookies for us,” Babcock said. “We have another baker that comes in the morning that makes extra sweets, like lemon pop muffins and oatmeal cream pies.”
Babcock said Ethan’s Donut Factory is working to add gluten-free options due to popular requests.
According to employee Cailey VanZant, Ethan’s Donut Factory provides jobs for high school and college students in the area as well.
“I started pretty much right after school ended, and I knew a few other people who did too because my friend wanted me to come work here,” VanZant said.
Monahan said working at Ethan’s Donut Factory allows her to balance her busy schedule while still holding a part-time job.
“I started working here about a month after it opened,” Monahan said. “I love our staff and I get to work with a lot of my classmates. They’re really flexible with my hours. I’m in AP classes and sports so they are good at working around all of that.”
According to Babcock, the busiest day for Ethan’s Donut Factory is Saturday, when the store typically sells about 1,200 donuts.
Ethan’s Donut Factory opens at 7 a.m. Tuesday to Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. It closes at 8 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday, and 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The store is closed on Mondays.
As college students return to Hillsdale, Babcock expects business to increase.
“We believe the impact will be very nice and increase our sales,” Babcock said. “We’ve already had a few activities up at Hillsdale College. People are pre-ordering our fun donuts for orientation activities and some sorority house openings.”