Screenshot via YouTube/Used with permission of Sublime Doughnuts.

Sublime Doughnuts owner Kamal Grant has always been a true kid at heart. When his funky doughnut boutique opened on the Westside in 2008, Grant showed Atlanta that there were no hard and fast rules to doughnut making. If he wanted to make an “A-“shaped doughnut called the “A-town” instead of a standard Boston cream variety, he damn well would. What followed is a pretty sweet love story between Atlanta and Grant, who continues to grow his business not only in Atlanta, but internationally. Along with the original Westside location near Georgia Tech, there is a 24-hr Sublime in Druid Hills (that is kosher certified), a store in Bangkok, Thailand, and two more outlets arriving at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where he will also sell soft-serve ice cream and doughnut sandwiches. (Grant says he is also looking to expand to Sandy Springs.)

Recently, Grant has turned his attention to YouTube, making fun videos like horror movie parody “Butterknife: A Halloween Special,” a behind-the-scenes video from a party he catered where Atlanta rappers T.I. and 2 Chainz were guests, and his latest, “Will it Doughnut?” The premise: Grant spins a wheel of doughnut destiny that features a wide variety of ingredients such as Hot Cheetos, roses, guacamole, Starburst candy, and fried chicken. Then he creates the custom doughnut on camera and taste tests it. Grant plans to come up with a new creation every Monday, and diners will be able to purchase the special doughnut at the Tenth Street store each week.

The first wheel creation is a Starburst doughnut, which will be will be available at the tenth street store during the week of March 6. Next up: A lotion doughnut for the week of March 13th. Yes, you read that right, lotion. Grant had a smooth explanation for the bizarre flavor: “Natural lotion is essentially cocoa butter and coconut oil and almond oil and stuff. I’ll probably use light chocolate and coconut oil, then put some lavender, orange zest, and vanilla in there to make it more floral.” He jokingly added, “And I’ll also see if [the doughnut] can get rid of some of this ash. It’s gotta be edible and functional at the same time.”

Photography by Kyle Hill.

Given the prevalence of wacky food-based YouTube videos out there, Grant picked a solid medium to draw attention to his business. And a little publicity in the name of fun is never a bad idea. “Like I tell the employees that work here, we’re not really in the food business. We’re in the happiness business,” he told me. “So we’re just trying to put fun stuff out there and make people happy.”