CALENDONIA – Thanks to Tara Atkins and her team, people in Queens County can now go nuts over Go-Nuts mini doughnuts.
Atkins, along with her husband Zachary, stepmother Charlie, and occasionally her daughter, has just purchased Lil’ Orbit equipment and started the doughnut-making business this year, making it a family affair, she says.
“Cooking is in our blood, that’s for sure,” says Atkins. “I’ve grown up in a kitchen and can’t tell you how many hours I’ve stood waiting in a Lil’ Orbits doughnut line.”
The family loves to be on the go, particularly doing weird and whacky things, so when the business became available, Atkins says it seemed like a no-brainer.
Heading into the first busy season since purchasing the business, Atkins says they are already nearly fully booked.
The mini doughnut setup is a mobile stand, and Atkins says they will be operating at lots of temporary events this season. For example, in March, Go-Nuts participated in a fundraising event at their local school in Caledonia, providing samples of their original recipe donuts in support of the local travel club and to let the community in on their new best kept secret.
As in any food business, there are tons of similar vendors out there, says Atkins. They are striving to provide the best-quality, original recipe chocolate, cinnamon or white sugar-coated mini doughnuts by experimenting with cooking mediums and times.
“We are hoping to take a step above with our filled, gourmet mini-doughnuts,” says Atkins.
In their trials and free sampling phase, she says, they have gotten rave reviews.
“Those will set us apart from most other mini doughnut vendors.”
Depending on the success of the season, Go-Nuts MINI Donuts has lots of plans for the future. The first is the possibility of a food truck. Atkins says they would like to explore more permanent and convenient avenues for customers to get the doughnuts.
For now, those looking for Go-Nuts MINI Donuts can follow them on Facebook and Atkins says to keep an eye out for their name listed as vendors at public events locally and province wide.
