Overview
It was the sweet treat chain that rose faster than yeasty baked goods, then sunk like your stomach when you've eaten too much sugar. After closing down its 30 stores earlier this year during the collapse of then-owner Damien Griffith's hospitality empire, Doughnut Time is now set to return — under new owners and managers, with six new shops on the horizon.
Doughnut Time will start slinging its wares across Australia's east coast, the brand announced on Facebook. Expect decadent circles of baked and fried dough to pop up in the Myer Centre and at South Bank in Brisbane; Degraves Lane, Hawthorn and Fitzroy in Melbourne; and Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast. That's just for starters — Sydney is also expected to nab a new store or two in 2019, and Melburnians can expect a couple more as well.
Since announcing the comeback, the company has pushed the original August opening date to the end of September, but still no stores are open. With any luck, the mint green doors will fling open before the end of the year.
With the chain now overseen by Queensland entrepreneur Peter Andros, Doughnut Time is eager to put the brand's past behind it — a situation that not only saw its previous stores shuttered without warning, but left many of its staff unpaid. "We think what happened to past employees is unacceptable," the company wrote on Facebook. "We encourage any previous workers who have not yet done so to reclaim unpaid wages by contacting the Department of Jobs and Small Business. We believe many Australians missed Doughnut Time and when we saw it was up for sale, we jumped at the opportunity to bring it back."
Fans and sugar fiends should prepare their tastebuds for a dose of the old and the new when the fresh batch of stores start cooking up a storm. Hit flavours like the Cate Blanchett (a milk chocolate doughnut covered in Tim Tam pieces) have been teased on social media, as have new vegan, gluten free, high protein, low sugar and keto options.
For more information, keep an eye on Doughnut Time's website and Facebook page.
Updated: October 10, 2018.