From burgers and tacos to sweets? Take an inside look at new Broadway doughnut shop
Sitting in his reinvented restaurant-turned-doughnut shop in downtown Columbus on Tuesday, restaurateur Mark Jones said nothing makes his day like seeing people happy and eating food.
Opening its doors on Monday for a soft opening, Flip Side Donuts & More (formerly Flip Side Burgers & Tacos) is offering something that no other downtown business is currently: made-to-order mini doughnuts.
About the size of a doughnut hole, the doughnuts are fried and topped with everything from classic glazes and cinnamon sugar to more adventurous creations like Fruity Pebbles and peanut butter and jelly.
“Doing the doughnuts has been something I’ve wanted to do for two or three years now,” Jones said Tuesday. “We wanted to do something we could serve out hot and fresh and kind of get wild with the flavors. Who doesn’t love doughnuts?”
Flip Side Burgers & Tacos closed mid-April last year so that the changeover could take place. The small store was spruced up, and the nature of the grab-and-go doughnuts makes for quicker turnover than the former fast-casual sit down restaurant.
The store is located in the center of the otherwise sleepy 1100 block; across the street, the former Lane Jewelers building is getting a complete remodel, and several storefronts stand empty on both sides of Broadway. A Salt Life retail store, Freeze Frame Yogurt Shoppe, Brushes and Beverages, Crowne Hookah, and longstanding businesses and sandwich shops round out the offerings.
The reopening of Flip Side could signal reactivation and be another reason for pedestrians to stay a little longer in the area: Jones said the shop is a nice addition to the Uptown, as the doughnuts are an easy snack for tourists to grab and eat as they walk up and down Broadway in the summer months.
Right now, coffee and drinks complete the menu, but additions are planned very soon, Jones said.
“Right now we’re doing some stuff like s’mores, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, and we have various glazes like strawberry, blueberry, coconut, peanut butter, but our flavors will get to the wild side here very, very quickly,” Jones said.
One serving of the doughnuts runs about $5 for the simpler toppings and up to $6.50 for more complex flavors.
Savory items are on the horizon, like salty french fries and ice cream to dip them in, Jones said. Homemade cookies and cake may join the lineup, but the doughnuts will remain the star of the show.
“We wanted to make sure that they were nice and fresh...it just kind of brings you back to your childhood and it’s just comfort food at its best,” he said.
Jones is back full-time in Columbus after recovering from a May 2018 car wreck that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Nearly two years and lots of rehab later, he was able to stand up and walk the length of Flip Side, assisted by a walker.
“It’s great to be back,” Jones said. “I’m just getting settled in but I am moving around a lot better and hopefully it’ll just keep getting better. I would like to thank everybody in Columbus for their thoughts and their prayers.”
He wouldn’t reveal too much about his future plans, but he said he is still looking for a place to reopen Flip Side Burgers Tacos. He has owned restaurants in Columbus and Harris County since 1995, and currently owns or co-owns Smoke Bourbon & BBQ, The Black Cow, Plucked Up Chicken & Biscuits, Hunter’s Pub and Mark’s City Grill.
“I’ve always got something working in my head, and sometimes just getting it out of my head is the hard part,” Jones said. “I don’t want to overdo it...I’d rather make sure everything that we’re doing now, everybody is enjoying it.”
Flip Side is located at 1115 Broadway. Hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
This story was originally published January 8, 2020 at 6:00 AM.