Until now, south Florida has been a little behind in the hand crafted doughnut craze that's sweeping the nation. From New York City, where hipsters stand in line for an hour for a Meyer lemon doughnut from Doughnut Plant to Portland, Oregon, where Voodoo Doughnuts has been featured on nearly every show on Food Network's roster, Homer Simpson's favorite treat is riding a wave of popularity. So where are the hand-made gourmet doughnuts in south Florida?
For now, they're all in a little strip mall shop in Pembroke Pines and these doughnuts contain enough mojo for the entire state.
Shawn and Shelly Neifeld opened Mojo Donuts
quietly in February on the corner of Pines Boulevard and University
Drive (7906 Pines Blvd.). The Neifelds owned a smoothie shop in
Lauderhill, but high rents forced them to close. Looking for another
endeavor, they decided to open a doughnut shop. Now, the couple wake up at 1
a.m. each day to make the sweet treats.
At first the little shop did well
with locals. But a shop that sells bacon and maple doughnuts can't stay
out of the public eye forever. Soon, there was a buzz. Then, Y-100 DJs
wanted a doughnut named after them (The Mack Attack,is a bacon and Nutella variety). Now, the entrepreneurs are so busy they don't even have
time to start a Twitter account.
The secret to their success?
"No one else is making gourmet doughnuts in south Florida," Shawn Neifeld
tells Clean Plate Charlie. "There are other places -- Dandee Donuts
makes a good product, but we're working with really interesting flavor
profiles."
