Kitchener's newest gourmet doughnut shop is now open

There are two kinds of people in this world; people who adore doughnuts and people in denial about their adoration for doughnuts. These puffed, glazed and sprinkled delicacies are one of life’s true universal treats. Everybody loves doughnuts.

Three local entrepreneurs are capitalizing on that by bringing a touch of decadence to Belmont Village with their new doughnut shop. Co-founders Trudy Koen, Rob Theodosiou and Mark Brown celebrated the grand opening of their doughnut shop “Lady Glaze Doughnuts” last Saturday.

Through word of mouth and via their Instagram page, Lady Glaze has already developed a cult following as dozens of customers were lined up out the door on opening day.

The trio saw an opportunity in Waterloo Region to launch a gourmet doughnut shop and chose Belmont Village for its vibrant atmosphere and growing neighbourhood. After nearly 18 months in the works, they’re treating their hungry customers to Lady Glaze's signature old-fashioned fried, yeast-raised doughnuts.

“I think doughnuts are that special treat that people get really excited about when they are allowing themselves to splurge," Koen said.

The co -founders looked to Hamilton and Toronto as a source of inspiration; cities where multiple gourmet doughnut shops thrive due to a ravenous demand from their customers. Koen and company are hoping they’ll do the same for the doughnut market in Kitchener-Waterloo.

The ownership collective was floo red by the positive feedback from surrounding businesses and community members. “I love how much the community rallies behind new businesses,” Koen said.

“When you’re opening a business, to see so many local businesses reaching out that want to collaborate with us, or offering support in different ways—interested in selling and wholesaling our doughnuts—it’s been nice to feel that from other local businesses and the people who are pumped and excited.”

Each co -founder brings a different skill-set to the business. As a former employee of Blackberry for 13 years, Koen worked in the tech space and spearheads the marketing and branding. Theodosiou offers the operational expertise as the president of Abe Erb Brewing Company and Settlement Coffee Roasters, and Brown brings his extensive culinary background to help create concepts and recipes for the doughnuts.

Lady Glaze specializes in gourmet doughnuts, but they’ll always offer a stable of classic doughnuts on their menu. Honey dips, cinnamon twists and apple fritters will be featured , but they’ll sprinkle in a few seasonal releases, offering anywhere from eight to ten doughnut varieties every day.

Koen iterated one of their ultimate goals is to never run out of doughnuts, as they’ll bake several times throughout the day. Whether you’re visiting early morning, midday or 30 minutes before closing, Koen hopes to assure customers that no customers will go home without a doughnut in hand.

Lady Glaze also launched an online ordering system through their website: LadyGlazeDoughnuts .com. The shop has already received orders for doughnuts for weddings, baby showers and engagement parties. Besides retail, Lady Glaze dips into the corporate realm for workplaces looking to treat their workers with custom-made doughnuts.

For those looking to indulge another vice, Lady Glaze is a licensed establishment, so you can pair your chocolate dip doughnut with a pint, or sip on a glass of red wine while you nibble on a fresh-baked cinnamon twist.

“There are lots you can do from a flavour perspective, but also from a pairing perspective," Koen said. "They go well with beer, they go well with champagne."

Not only are doughnuts the true universal treat, they also go with everything.