New Columbus food truck aims to bring great donuts and give back to the community
Starting a food truck was not the vision for Evan and Leslie Griner.
Both Columbus natives, Evan was working his way up in the shipping industry and Leslie was a stay-at-home mom raising their three children.
But when tariffs began impacting the shipping industry, Evan was laid off, Leslie told the Ledger-Enquirer.
“We just didn’t know what we were going to do,” she said.
He applied for dozens of jobs. The couple considered moving to South Carolina before Evan suggested selling their home to open a food truck. They’d always thought about getting into a franchise, he told the Ledger-Enquirer.
The franchise DonutNV, pronounced like donut envy, offered something different.
“I always wanted to work in a kitchen but didn’t want to work in a brick-and-mortar kitchen and deal with that,” Evan said.
Leslie, who’s worked as a stay-at-home mom for 12 years, entered into a new workplace operating as their social media manager, events coordinator and customer service.
It’s a big adjustment, she said, but it helps that their kids have gotten older.
Along with providing a new option for donuts in Columbus, Leslie and Evan pledged from the beginning to dedicate a portion of their proceeds to give back to the community. On Oct. 1, they presented MercyMed with a $2,000 check.
“We just had faith it was going to work,” Leslie said. “I’ve been scared the whole way, but (Evan) has been so positive. He’s great.”
A peek at DonutNV
The food truck is a little different from others, with a window on the side of the truck allowing curious customers to watch the donuts being made fresh.
While kids enjoy seeing the donuts being made, Evan said, their dads love it more. They enjoy asking questions about the machinery and mechanics, Leslie said.
“I’ll be sitting here cooking donuts,” Evan said, “and, all of a sudden, their big face is literally right on the window. Then they’re grabbing a kid and hoisting them up.”
The donuts take about 30-45 seconds to cook fresh, he said, and the ability to offer them hot and fresh every time helps make it unique.
“We don’t have a sign that says hot because they’re always hot,” Evan said.
A popular DonutNV flavor is cinnamon roll, but customers may also find Lucky Charms, Oreos, glazed and unicorn donuts.
“The outside is like a funnel cake,” Leslie said. “But it’s thick and fluffy on the inside, unlike a funnel cake.”
While many people come for the donuts, Leslie said, they quickly discover DonutNV’s lemonade. It comes in three flavors, with an option to add habanero syrup that can make the lemonade spicy.
“We have a fresh-squeezed lemonade product,” Evan said. “We have had people drive across town saying that was the best lemonade they’ve had.”
As the weather cools down in the fall, DonutNV will also offer hot chocolate and apple cider.
Giving back
After selling their home to open the food truck, and moving in with her in-laws, Leslie was nervous about starting a new business.
“It’s on a biblical level with us,” Evan said. “God says to give back your talents, and this is something that we wanted to do when we went into this business.”
Leslie was nervous about giving proceeds from DonutNV to the community from day one, she said, and suggested that they should wait and save first.
“He says, ‘No, we’ve got to do it from day one,’” she said. “And I said, ‘OK.’ And we have been wildly successful.”
Their $2,000 donation to MercyMed was a portion of their revenue from the past two months, Leslie said, and not the first donation they’ve provided to the organization.
MercyMed is a health care provider dedicated to serving underserved communities and individuals who may not otherwise have access to affordable health care.
Donations such as the one DonutNV gave them is meaningful to their organization, Kristie Griffin, MercyMed development associate, told the Ledger-Enquirer.
“We are just overjoyed because our job is to go and ask the community, where you’re able and where you can, to give back,” she said. “And we feel like there’s no better place to give back. The quality that’s offered here is really and truly excellent.”
A lot of the staff at MercyMed are accepting less pay to provide people with quality care at the lowest price, she said.
“They are medical missionaries,” Griffin said. “So, that is a choice that they make. Our numbers look good, and we are very healthy because of that.”
She believes this ethos and ability to manage their budget is why businesses such as DonutNV see them as a good place to give back.
MercyMed has used these donations like this one to convert a former Piggly Wiggly on Second Avenue into a Wellness Center, hoping to provide people with more preventative care so they aren’t only managing illnesses after the fact.
DonutNV also has donated to schools and the National Infantry Museum.
“After today, we will have given over $3,000 to the community,” Evan said. “And we’ve (only) been open since May.”
DonutNV posts on its Facebook account a schedule of times and locations where the truck will be every week. While some events may be private and not accessible to the public, residents may also find them at locations where they can stop by and pick up some donuts.
If anyone would like to book the food truck for an event, they can reach Leslie or Evan by contacting them on Facebook or calling them at 706-786-0512, Leslie said.
They are operating the truck in Columbus and Auburn, she said, and they plan to expand with an additional truck to meet the demands of both cities.
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
