Creative doughnut champions Blue Star Donuts will open a massive new flagship location with more flavors, late-night hours and the return of the fried-chicken doughnut.

The doughnut shop, known for its gourmet flavors including a crème brûléed, Cointreau-filled doughnut, will close its original downtown Portland shop, CEO Katie Poppe tells The Oregonian/OregonLive.

"It's kind of a dream come true," Poppe said Monday from the new under-construction shop. "The five-year lease renewal was up on the downtown space. And one block down and one block over an entire space was available big enough to house our entire production and our office headquarters."

At 5,000 square feet, Poppe's new "doughnut destination" takes up the corner of downtown Portland's 12th and Morrison building, a footprint more than six times larger than the original Southwest Washington Street shop. That space includes Blue Star's management offices; a glazing, decorating and filling room; and a kitchen with a huge robot doughnut fryer and a dough mixer so large "you could fit a bus in it," Poppe jokes.

12th and Morrison

On the retail side, Blue Star Donuts flagship will feature a long white counter with more new flavors on display and both Coava cold brew and Steven Smith iced tea on tap. Among the ideas being tossed around: Cinnamon rolls made with Blue Star's signature brioche dough and late-night Champagne and doughnut pairings. Blue Star fans will find some old favorites as well, including both a seasonal and an apple fritter (until now, they've only had capacity to make one at a time) and the return of the fried-chicken doughnut. At the end of the line, head pastry chef Stephanie Thornton (Four Seasons Hotel, New York) will test recipes and hand out samples from a small open kitchen.

"Doughnuts are a blank canvas," Poppe says. "The sky's the limit artistry-wise. I'm excited to turn her loose."

Blue Star Donuts will open its new flagship location in mid June at the 12th and Morrison building at, you guessed it, Southwest 12th Avenue and Morrison Street.

-- Michael Russell