Change and redevelopment around 23rd and Union are shaping up quite nicely — but we’re not too sure about your belly. Popular pop-up Raised Doughnuts has found a home in the Central District.

The new doughnut bakery and counter is set to transform the old Collins Gold Exchange and minimart that was once lined up to become a Central District burger joint on 23rd Ave at E Spring.

(Image: Raised Doughnuts) (Image: Raised Doughnuts) (Image: CHS)

Seattle Magazine broke the news earlier this week that Mi Kim found a 23rd Ave home for her “scratch, hand cut, and delicious” doughnuts.

Raised Doughnuts has made a name for itself as a pop-up featuring classic styles plus seasonal specials, “mochi doughnuts” and other “unique flavor combinations.”

“The texture is it for me,” Kim said about the ideal raised Raised doughnut creation. “A doughnut should be soft and also chewy.” Oh, and you should eat it within six hours, Kim advises. That probably won’t be a problem.

More doughnut news: If the lines outside Rene Erickson’s General Porpoise shop on E Union get too long, you can soon jump on light rail and head to Pioneer Square for your filled doughnut fix. General Porpoise has announced it is expanding to 401 1st Ave S in the historic Merrill Place Building. “Expect white brick walls, enormous windows, large timbers, classic millwork and floor tile details, and something unique,” the announcement notes. “The Jeffry Mitchell elephant lanterns are really the center piece of the space. They’re so charming and sweet,” Erickson said. The new General Porpoise is planned to open in coming weeks.

The coming soon Raised Doughnuts will be about the bakery first. “I want it to feel like a production space,” Kim said. “You’ll see the mixers, you’ll see the tools. Everything will be in sight.”

After nearly a decade with Macrina, Kim set out to build Raised through pop-up events before getting serious about a search for a headquarter space about six months ago. She started the search for a location with some naive enthusiasm — “Originally, I was like, I want to be in South Lake Union!” — but a Central District lease was a much more affordable proposition for the young venture. The space is also nearly ready to be transformed fully into a doughnut production shop, Kim hopes, meaning it won’t take long for Raised Doughnuts to open its doors.

She says her experience growing as a pastry chef at Macrina was a good education for branching out on her own. “The only reason I’m ready for this is Macrina,” she said.

She also said Raised fans across the city shouldn’t be sad — she still plans to hold pop-ups around Seattle.

Kim’s venture joins a busy area of the neighborhood for food + drink — and development. Across the street, the Midtown Center is ready to be redeveloped as a mixed-use project with more than 400 apartments, a 12,000-square-foot drugstore, and new Africatown Plaza. Nearby, the Liberty Bank Building is also under construction with the East Union building and its planned New Season grocery store nearing completion on the northwest corner of 23rd and Union.

Raised Doughnuts will have help in treating the new residents of the area. In January, CHS reported on the plans for Broadway-born Tacos Chukis to open on 23rd Ave this summer.

Kim said she is still working out the plans for days and hours of operation. She knows there will be plenty of business on weekends but is still feeling out the neighborhood’s rhythms and commute times for how weekday business should be shaped. Of course, there will be coffee but don’t expect a leisurely espresso bar. Raised is planned to feature plenty of drip for its customers to grab and go.

You had better grab a few. Kim said simple ingredients like “pretty much just pure milk and sugar” help make her doughnuts go down easily. “My whole goal with Raised is you can eat a couple.”

Raised Doughnuts is planned to open at 1101 23rd Ave this spring. You can learn more at raiseddoughnuts.com.

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