American Doughnut Kitchen has been pumping out golden, jam-filled gems from its Queen Victoria Market van since the 1950s. The German-style doughnuts are a nostalgic favourite for many Melburnians.

This Saturday July 6, the historic van will open its first bricks-and-mortar store, this time at the Prahran Market. It’s the first new location for the business in over 70 years, but visitors to Queen Vic Market can rest easy knowing the truck will continue to operate as usual.

Opening a storefront allows for things that aren’t possible when confined to a van. Now, thanks to the larger space, the family-owned and -operated business is able to serve drinks. You can now pair your hot jam doughnuts with hot chocolate and coffee brewed with Code Black beans.

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The larger production space has also made it possible to get creative with different doughnut fillings. The van’s classic raspberry and plum jam doughnuts will remain the signature, but the new store will occasionally have limited-edition fillings, some of which will be made in collaboration with other market vendors.

But the new shop means “more than doughnuts” to co-owner Belinda Donaghey, who runs the business with her partner Justin Donaghey, and whose maternal grandfather, Arnold Bridges, purchased the business over 70 years ago.

“I was very close with my grandfather, and there’s a very strong emotional thread that runs through the whole business. We’re in the business of making memories and connections,” she says.

In that vein, the Prahran Market storefront emulates the experience of waiting in line and peering into the van at the Queen Vic Market. Watch the production line as little dough balls are fried in oil, filled with hot raspberry-plum jam and rolled in sugar, without craning your neck.

The store’s feature wall has a timeline that showcases the rich history of the business, through photos from each decade. And if you look up at the ceiling, there are stripes that mimic those of the awning on the side of the Queen Vic Market truck.

The opening of a shop was no spur-of-the-moment decision. “It’s something I had written down years ago as a goal: open a shop one day,” she says. “And when Prahran Market approached us, all the stars aligned.”

And to celebrate opening, this Saturday July 6 American Doughnut Kitchen Prahran is giving away doughnuts and puppuccinos to the first 200 visitors.

American Doughnut Kitchen Prahran Market
163 Commercial Road, South Yarra

Hours:
Tue 7am–5pm
Thur to Sat 7am–5pm
Sun 8am–3pm

adk1950.com.au