I love the new sign. But I'm a sucker for neon.

I repeat: VooDoo Doughnut is open! And, yes, there’s already a line down the block.

The downtown VooDoo has been closed for several months as it expanded from its broom closet sized hole-in-the-wall into part of the old Berbati’s Pan space (RIP). They’ve hired over a dozen new employees and today is the first day of their “soft opening”—they’ll only be open this weekend until they sell out of doughnuts. Once the kinks in the system are worked out, the new VooDoo will have four registers running and be open 24/7 (likely by next week, says owner Tres Shannon).

The grand opening is July 9th, involving some sort of street party with a guy named “Hogwild” at 2pm.

I bumped into Tres while I waited in line for a classic chocolate coconut doughnut and he gave me a whirlwind tour of the much-expanded kitchen. I wasn’t allowed to take photos, but the doughnut-makers definitely have more space to work in the new place. The well-known old entrance leads straight into the fryer.

There’s a bunch of cute little touches in the remodel. Photos, photos!

VooDoo stained glass by artist Chuck Franklin
  • VooDoo stained glass by artist Chuck Franklin
I love the new sign. But Im a sucker for neon.
  • I love the new sign. But I’m a sucker for neon.
DSCN0949.JPG
New shirts. Lots of them.
  • New shirts. Lots of them.
DSCN0957.JPG
Theyre also glittering the whole building, painting over the bricks with shiny glitter paint. VooDoo has also installed a bunch of new security cameras.
  • They’re also “glittering” the whole building, painting over the bricks with shiny glitter paint. VooDoo has also installed a bunch of new security cameras.
I told Tres, Look like an upstanding citizen!
  • I told Tres, “Look like an upstanding citizen!”

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

19 replies on “VooDoo Doughnut is Open!”

  3. I didn’t even know they were closed. I only go when I’m showing someone from out of town what people from out of town do, which is wait in line at Voodoo Doughnuts.

  7. @Jim and @Ginny – No! Still cash only. But I didn’t ask about it. They might take cards when they’re fully up and running… but, personally, I doubt it.

  11. A doughnut costs what, a couple of bucks? Give them cash.

    Small merchants whose typical product or purchase is under $5 often don’t do cards, because it eats such a chunk of the margin. That 3% estimate, Dobber, is actually low for merchants who have to contract individually for their processing. I get mine through my trade association, so my rate is mercifully lower, but I still pay $150~ per month in processing fees.

    My average sale in my shop is $12, and my average charge card sale is $17, so it’s worth it for me to take cards. But if I were a doughnut shop and planning to take cards, I’d know that lots of people are only going to buy a couple of bacon maple bars, or a glazed and a cuppa drip. I’d have to set a $5 minimum for card sales because they are costly. If you care about a local merchant, you pay cash for small purchases.

  13. Right. But if I can think about how many times I would have purchased a doughnut (gladly paying a $.50 fee for under $10), or ordered MORE doughnuts than I had cash for…

    I don’t know. Multiply that by a lot. That’s their lost opportunity for not having a credit machine.

  15. The donuts are good, sure, but those lines 20 deep for a damned donut at night are about as silly as waiting 45 minutes for a tofu scramble on a sunday morning.

  16. @dobber and @thebookgeek: So to avoid a 25¢ charge from the credit card companies, they expect me to pay a $3 ATM fee? I’ve never understood that logic. If you don’t take cards…fuck you, really. I’m just done putting up with that BS.

  17. Furthermore, it is actually a violation of the merchant agreement with visa and mastercard to charge a fee or set a minimum for the transaction. Either take them or don’t. I highly doubt a place as wildly popular as voodoo doughnuts would have a problem paying the processing fees, especially with the higher volume of customers they’d bring in with cards.

  18. You don’t get to bitch about ‘the evil credit companies’ AND ‘businesses not taking credit cards’. Pick one.

    Credit cards are a shitty deal for consumers and businesses. Just go the the ATM once a week you lazy fuck.

Comments are closed.