Vice Doughnuts & Coffee Opens In Farmingdale: 'We’re Super Excited'

FARMINGDALE, NY — Vice Doughnuts & Coffee opened Friday at 314 Main St., Farmingdale, marking the family-owned pastry shop's second store.

"If you want to taste the freshest doughnut you’ve ever tasted in your life, you better get to 314 Main Street in Farmingdale, because they’re selling quick, and we’re super excited to be a part of the community," co-owner Gina O'Brien told Patch. "We’re super grateful for everyone’s love and support."

All doughnuts are baked on premises, and Gina promised people would never purchase a Vice doughnut older than 12 hours. Vice uses a cake doughnut, as opposed to an airy, fluffy, yeasty doughnut served at some other shops.

"They’re made to go really well with coffee. That’s our whole pairing: coffee and doughnuts together," Gina said. "Kind of an unbeatable match."

Gina and her husband, Joe, who has a passion for coffee, first opened a doughnut truck during the coronavirus pandemic. They launched their first brick-and-mortar store in Massapequa in 2022. But the Farmingdale residents and parents of four girls said Main Street is where they wanted to be.

Gina grew up in Levittown while Joe hails from upstate New York. The couple purchased a home in Farmingdale in 2016 and fell in love with the community.

"They’re really tight-knit," Gina said. "Main Street has become so gentrified and beautiful. From what I knew growing up in Levittown, it used to be two dive bars and that was it. And now it’s this amazing place to be. A lot of foot traffic, and it just keeps getting more beautiful every year. We knew this was definitely where we wanted to put some roots."

The shop's doughnuts are dairy and egg-free, so they are vegan.

"They’re the most amazing doughnuts ever, and they just happen to be vegan, so they can appeal to a much wider array of customers than just regular doughnuts," Gina said. "Our sprinkles have no artificial dyes or coloring. As a mother, I don’t give my kids — we steer clear of artificial stuff that tends to be added to sweet stuff. In our doughnuts, we don’t use any of that stuff."

Vice bakes some gluten-free doughnuts, too, but Gina said they are currently fried in the same oil as the regular doughnuts.

"So they’re not super safe for people with very intense allergies," she said.

The shop plans to buy a separate fryer for gluten-free doughnuts within the next few months.

"We offer gluten-free doughnuts for people who don’t necessarily have that super intense allergy," she said.

Creating different kinds of doughnuts is "therapy" for Gina, she said. She has always had a passion for cooking and baking. She used to bake fresh bread as a side gig. Joe is in the Army, so before the two had children, they did a lot of traveling and saw "amazing coffee shops," which inspired the idea for their own doughnut business.

"We wanted to bring something else to the table. I love to cook. [Joe] got really into coffee when we were traveling. This kind of just came together."

Gina and Joe are family people through and through.

"Our goal in life has always been to provide for our family and be together," she said. "We kind of figured wherever this took us, as long as we were with our kids and each other, we’re happy. We’re super excited to have two brick and mortars, and we’re really excited for the chance to spend time together as a family, honestly."

The O'Briens want to give families a chance to do fun things together, as well. Gina said they are planning on doing tea parties, community events, child-driven activities and live music.

"We’re going to really utilize the space, so it’s not going to just be coffee and doughnuts. It’s going to be everything you can imagine. We’re open late on Fridays and Saturdays. We’re hoping we can provide the community with something that’s not a bar at night. If you want something to do after you go out to dinner or something with your kids. We’re here for the nightlife, we’re here for Sunday morning coffee, Sunday morning doughnuts. We’re here for it all."

The Farmingdale location is a full cafe, Gina said, whereas the Massapequa one is just a window.

"It’s been a long time coming. Our dream had always been to open a full cafe. When we had the means to open, it was the height of COVID. Nobody was starting full businesses. We started with the food truck. We had an opportunity to open that small window in Massapequa. This has been the dream. This is where we want to be, and we’re so excited to be here."