Locale Profile: PVDonuts

I love donuts, I lurve them, luff ‘em. I am not a morning person, but I will set an alarm and get my ass out of bed at an ungodly hour if there is the promise of donuts. Recently, I did just that. My trip to PVDonuts was more than worth the early morning wake-up call. In the creative capital and one of the best foodie cities in the States, these folks are slinging donuts in true PVD fashion.

PVDonuts doesn’t take the term “gourmet” lightly when creating these delicious, circular little masterpieces. Owner and head baker, Lori Kettelle, takes pride in using locally sourced, fresh ingredients in her 100% hand-made donuts.

When I first heard about this new donut shop on the block, maybe a month or so before the store officially opened for business, I was more than intrigued. I started looking PVDonuts up on various social media outlets, drooling over the images of their gourmet goods. I knew this was a game changer for me and donut lovers abound. Bacon on a donut? I’m in!

In addition to their more creative creations, the team at PVDonuts takes personal diet preferences and restrictions into account when thoughtfully creating their menu. Gluten-free folks, vegans and gluten-freegans rejoice! Before PVDonuts opened, a vegan friend of mine made a trip to Maine for a vegan donut. This probably wasn’t the only reason for the trip, but it was definitely a highlight for her after being deprived of donuts for at least a few years! A vegan donut in Providence is kind of a big deal.

Before my trek to see if these donuts lived up to the hysteria, I was forewarned by numerous people to get there early because they sell out quick! I arrived an hour before the store opened and a line had already begun to form. I claimed my spot on the sidewalk outside; when I peeked behind me down Allens Ave maybe 20 minutes later, I could not see where the line ended. During the wait, I became comrades with those in front of and behind me in line. We were in this together and talk of donuts, flavors, excited anticipation and all things donut-related continued until the doors opened at 8am.

When you finally get to the door and walk into PVDonuts, you are immediately smacked in the face with a wall of sweet, doughy smells that you can basically taste. You know you’ve made it. I was informed of a six-donut limit per customer to help spread the wealth, and the staff was pleasant and efficient. In the food industry, a line of that caliber could strike fear into the hearts of those behind the counter, however, every employee remained calm and collected. It kept the vibe very chill.

The menu varies slightly day-to-day. The six donut flavors available when I visited were vanilla bean sprinkle, mocha ganache chip, cookies and cream, matcha and ganache, maple bacon chocolate chunk and chocolate coconut with caramel. My box consisted of one of each of these bonkers options.

Did PVDonuts live up to the hype? Hells yass! Each donut was light and airy on the inside and the textures were consistently on point — just the right amount of springy lightness in the dough and not too melt-in-your-mouthy. The winner of my taste buds was ultimately the maple bacon chocolate chunk donut – a friend of mine stated that just knowing that this donut really exists gives him hope for a better, maplier, baconier world.

PVDonuts, 200 Allens Ave, Providence