Duck Donuts, known for made-to-order fare, is open in Naperville

Duck Donuts, a franchise chain known for its made-to-order fare, has opened its first store in Naperville.

The new business, located at 3124 S. Route 59, is owned and operated by Kevon Gardner and Elise Gardner. It’s the third store in Illinois, the others being in Geneva and Libertyville.

The grand opening celebration Saturday was to include the first guest in line receiving a free dozen doughnuts monthly for a year and the next 50 customers presented with a future-use coupon for two dozen doughnuts and a bucket of coffee, a store announcement said.

“We are delighted to begin serving warm, delicious, made-to-order doughnuts in my hometown of Naperville,” Kevon Gardner said in the release. “We look forward to deepening our roots in our home community and sprinkling happiness with our delicious doughnuts!”

All doughnuts are custom-made for each patron, starting with the signature fried vanilla cake batter.

Once out of the fryer, the hot doughnuts can be dipped into icing, sugar or glaze and then covered with a choice of drizzle, powdered or cinammon sugar, sprinkles, nuts, cookie crumbles, jam, chocolate chips, coconut, bacon and other toppings.

Fan favorites include the Bacon in the Sun (maple icing with chopped bacon and salted caramel drizzle), Beach Ball (vanilla icing with rainbow sprinkles and chocolate drizzle), Blueberry Pancake (blueberry icing with maple drizzle and powdered sugar) or the Chocolate Explosion (chocolate icing with Oreo cookie crumbles and hot fudge drizzle).

Customers also can request their own creations.

The 1,600-square-foot store features the chain’s standard beach theme, and in addition to doughnuts and coffee, they also sell doughnut breakfast sandwiches, sundaes, milkshakes and frozen beverages. A viewing area allows patrons to watch doughnuts being made.

Store hours are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Duck Donuts opened its first locations in 2007 in the beach resort towns of Duck and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Now headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, the company began franchising in 2013. There are more than 125 shops in 24 states as well as Puerto Rico; Burlington, Ontario; Doha, Qata; Cairo, Egypt; and Riyadh, KSA.

Originally Published: Jul 28, 2023 at 5:27 pm