A doughnut stuffed with luxurious ube cream is just one of the popular items on the Kora menu. Since its launch in 2020, Kora, started by Eleven Madison Park and Union Square Hospitality alums Kimberly Camara and co-founder Kevin Borja, has gained immense popularity. Now, they are opening a permanent bakery for their Filipino American treats in Sunnyside, Queens. They have signed a lease at 45-12 Greenpoint Avenue and launched a Kickstarter to help them open by the end of the year.
The upcoming 2,100 square-foot space will include seating and allow for more spontaneity. While doughnuts will remain a key feature, the new Kora bakery plans to expand its offerings to include laminated pastries with flavors that blend Kora’s “Filipino flair” with the diverse tastes of Queens. The bakery is named after Camara’s grandmother and features recipes with personal stories, like the flan doughnut inspired by a recipe Camara discovered after her grandmother’s passing.
Camara began making doughnuts in her apartment, quickly amassing a waitlist of 800 people within the first few months, according to Eater in 2020. By 2021, the waitlist had grown to 10,000. Eventually, she and Borja moved to various commercial kitchens. Until the new bakery opens, they continue to produce doughnuts in a Sunnyside kitchen, with orders available for pick-up at Alewife Brewing.
“We felt like these last few years, we weren’t able to give the full experience to our customers and allow the accessibility that we had always hoped for. We always dreamed of having people just being able to come in without having to preorder and just be able to purchase whatever they want,” Camara says.
While the limited online ordering has contributed to the pop-up bakery’s allure, Borja explains, “there’s this idea that we’re doing it to be exclusive.” In reality, it was the only format they could manage with a small team and no outside investors.
Camara and Borja view their bakery as a community hub that can adapt to local needs, offering coffee, doughnuts, or breakfast sandwiches. Their bakery aims to fill the gap left in Sunnyside’s daytime options after Alpha Donuts, a long-time favorite, closed last year after five decades.
The founders took their time signing a lease. Although they considered Manhattan, where they had restaurant experience, staying in Queens was important to them because they had built a loyal audience there. Kora will join other notable bakeries in the area, like the recently opened Somedays in Long Island City, which offers unique twists on classic pastries.
“It’s honestly very scary and daunting to take this big next step, not only from a financial perspective… but going at the right pace to not sacrifice what people want from us, which is the quality, the uniqueness,” says Borja. “I always say, if the idea was to get rich quick, we would have moved a lot differently from the beginning.”
The plan is for the Sunnyside location to serve as a flagship hub for production, with the potential to expand to other locations in the future. Borja says, “We’re in it for the longevity of the brand, as opposed to a quick strike of virality.”