Downstate Donuts Launches Kickstarter to Open Retail Store

Chicago’s award-winning Downstate Donuts, known for its signature line of authentic potato donuts, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to open its first retail shop in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood. Since its launch in 2019 by Founder Virgil Roundtree, Downstate has operated out of shared kitchen space and serviced customers across Chicago through its donut trikes, farmers markets and a long list of independent café partners. However, production was halted over the summer following a fire in the shared kitchen. Through the Kickstarter campaign, Roundtree has set an initial goal to lease a solo production kitchen and ultimately open his first brick and mortar location in Andersonville. Downstate Donuts’ Kickstarter campaign is live here.

Comments Roundtree, “Customers frequently ask, ‘where are you located?’ and our response has always been ‘Andersonville’ – it’s where our very first recipe was born and it’s the neighborhood where many of our dedicated customers first discovered us. Despite having no permanent location within Andersonville, I’ve always thought it was important for us to maintain an active presence within the community. Today we have such a close relationship with Andersonville that we often greet customers with ‘It’s so good to see you, how’s your week been?’ versus a few years ago when our opening line was ‘have you tried a potato donut?’ Now it feels like we’re catching up with old friends, and in return they’re enthusiastic to introduce Downstate Donuts to their families. The local residents, businesses and Chamber of Commerce have collectively supported us from day one – that’s what every small business wishes for.”

David Oakes, Andersonville Chamber of Commerce’s Director of Business Services and District Manager adds, “As a Chamber, there is nothing more rewarding than assisting in the growth and continued success of new small businesses. Downstate Donuts has been an incredible asset to the neighborhood over the past few years. As owner and a resident, Virgil Roundtree has worked from a community kitchen and his unique donuts have become a culinary favorite at dozens of neighborhood events. Andersonville is a ‘donut desert’ and needs a Downstate Donuts retail store more than ever!”

Downstate’s Kickstarter campaign offers ten pledge levels with various perks including a private donut-making class, the donor’s name carved on a Downstate trike, an invitation to the retail store’s soft opening, a year of Donut Tots shipped to your door (perfect for out-of-town donors), plenty of Downstate swag, and much more.

History of Downstate Donuts

Founder Virgil Roundtree started his potato donut obsession after a trip to Portland Maine led to his discovery of the famed donut. After just three months of experimenting in his kitchen starting with a 100-year-old donut recipe using mashed potatoes, he produced the first original recipe for Downstate Donuts. Content on sharing his unique creation with Chicago, Downstate Donuts entered the annual Donut Fest competition in 2019, competing against Chicago’s top donut shops. Much to their surprise, Downstate took home the biggest award of the day, winning “Best Donut” for their Vanilla Sour Cream donut.

Comments Roundtree, Potato donuts are cakey, but also very light and airy. They meet somewhere in between a cake and classic raised donut, making it the best of both worlds. We take it a step further by using organic ingredients and often sourcing locally from our fellow farmer market vendors. The goal has always been to create a stellar potato donut, but we think donuts should have a bit more nutritional value, so we build our recipes with this in mind.”

Downstate has expanded its offering to include some unique and creative flavors including the miso honey butter and whipped Vietnamese coffee, which have become instant favorites. Their offerings continue to grow, most recently launching their Donut Tots, a bite sized version of their award-winning vanilla sour cream and the sweet potato maple donut, currently on shelves at Chicago area Foxtrot locations.

The COVID pandemic inspired Downstate Donuts to become creative, launching a fleet of donut trikes in 2020. At a time when people needed a pick me-up, the donut trikes created a miniature donut shop experience, meeting people at their doorstep through various pop-ups at area high rises and local neighborhood business districts.

For additional information, visit downstatedonuts.com or follow Downstate Donuts on Instagram at @downstatedonuts.