New Donut Shop Shifts Focus to Classic Offerings.
For the past two decades, the donut industry has been marked by ever-larger creations and a flurry of extravagant toppings. This trend has led to a surge in donuts featuring candy, cookies, and even fried pork. However, Melissa Sbrocco is setting a new course with her upcoming donut shop, aiming to bring back the simplicity and tradition of classic donuts.
Slated to open in the second week of September, Sbrocco’s Donuts & Espresso will offer a rotating selection of timeless favorites, including glazed, jelly-filled, chocolate iced, plain cake, and chocolate iced cake. Sbrocco, who has collaborated with semi-traditionalists Jason Becton and Patrick Evans at MarieBette Café & Bakery, is drawing inspiration from her own experiences.
“I’m from the Jersey Shore, and Jason is from New Jersey,” Sbrocco explains. “We’re accustomed to simple strip mall donut shops, similar to Dunkin’. That’s the kind of concept we’re aiming for.”
Sbrocco’s journey into the world of baking began in 2020. Originally a real estate agent, she intended to stay in Charlottesville only temporarily. However, she and her husband fell in love with the town, leading her to pursue her long-standing passion for baking through a job at MarieBette. Her collaboration with Becton and Evans has now culminated in the creation of Sbrocco’s Donuts & Espresso.
In this new venture, Sbrocco will benefit from the expertise of her former colleagues. “I’ll be consulting with Jason and Patrick, and using the brioche recipe they developed,” she says. Sbrocco adds, “We sometimes repurpose leftover brioche dough scraps into donuts. Technically, any fried dough shaped into a circle can be considered a donut.”
As preparations for the new shop continue at its location on Maury Avenue, the former site of Anna’s Pizza, Sbrocco and her partners are deeply involved in recipe development. One of her favorites is the apple fritter, which she makes with a sturdier dough akin to milk bread, rather than the usual brioche.
Despite her preference for cake donuts over yeast varieties, Sbrocco’s shop will always feature two non-leavened crullers. Additionally, they are experimenting with a potato donut, a nod to Charlottesville’s historic affection for potato-based pastries.
When it comes to coffee, Sbrocco aims to offer a classic experience. “We’ll serve full espresso drinks,” she says, “but the traditional choice will be a donut paired with a cup of drip coffee.”