Finally! A place to buy $3.75 doughnuts on Flatbush Avenue!
The upscale Manhattan chain Doughnut Plant opened its first Brooklyn location on Dec. 3 in a triangular building bounded by Bergen Street and Sixth Avenue in Prospect Heights. The business is known for its big pastries that come in out-there flavors, currently including marzipan, carrot cake, and gingerbread, just in time for the holidays. The confections range in price from $3.25 to $3.75, a far cry from the buck-or-so Dunkin’ Donuts charges, but customers we quizzed say you get what you pay for.
“It’s worth the price,” said Preston House, who trekked out from his home in Queens to snag a treat. “You’re not going to get quality without paying for it.”
There are five Dunkin’ Donuts locations within a mile of the Doughnut Plant outpost, but the Plant’s proprietor said he has never paid attention to the competition.
“When we started, we were the only ones making our doughnuts from scratch,” said Mark Israel, who opened his first shop in 1994. “I just focus on what I’m doing, not on the big chains.”
The new location was packed with devotees on its second day.
“When I lived in Maryland I would get a doughnut every time I visited New York,” said Ore Roberts, who now lives in Flatbush. “When I found out it was opening here I was watching and just waiting for it to open.”
Israel said he had long been courted by former Borough President Marty Markowitz, who once supposedly went so far as driving him around Brooklyn pointing out potential spots to open up shop.
But it wasn’t until Israel laid eyes on the distinctive storefront on Flatbush, formerly home to a Yummy Taco, that he knew it would work.
“I wanted to find the right building,” he said, pointing out rows of doughnut-evoking tiles inside and out, which predate Doughnut Plant. “I really liked the character and personality of this one.”
Israel is not the only one excited about his newest shop. The official Twitter account of the 78th police precinct, the station-house of which is kitty-corner on Sixth Avenue, retweeted three tweets hailing the store’s opening.
