Golden Donut will open another Columbus location in the former Burger King in Midtown
A Columbus donut shop that got a second chance after closing during the pandemic is expanding with a second location in the former Burger King in Midtown.
Golden Donut spent some time searching for the right spot for its new location, Managing Partner Colt Miley told the Ledger-Enquirer. The goal is to open the shop in Midtown in late February, he said.
The building is bigger than the business needs, Miley said, but Golden Donut will utilize the space for multi-purpose use.
“If you want to have a meeting with your employees and come in and get donuts, we’ve got private rooms you can use while eating there,” Miley said.
The space is a great space for kids’ parties because the cost will be low, it’s quick and “who doesn’t like donuts, right?,” he said.
Golden Donut coming to Midtown continues the growth and redevelopment of Wynnton Road, said Midtown, Inc. Executive Director Julio Portillo told the L-E. Wynnton has always been important to Midtown as one of its main thoroughfares, he said, and there’s been a lot of growth in the area’s eastern portion.
As Macon Road turns into Wynnton, Portillo said, more small family-owned businesses begin to pop up.
“We’ve all been waiting for that… local entrepreneur to really take that step forward with vision and to open something that gets us all excited,” he said.
The addition of Golden Donut will help revitalize that corridor, Portillo said.
“It’s a good side of town,” Miley said. “There’s no easy way to get from our current location to that side of town, so we don’t really think it’s going to have an impact on our current business.”
The historic photos of people and scenes of Columbus that used to hang in the former Burger King are no longer in the building, Miley said, but Golden Donut plans to replace the images.
“We’re going to get in touch with the historical society,” he said. “And we’ve got some folks that we know that collect historical stuff and Columbus stuff in general.”
Golden Donut previously suspended operations on Manchester Expressway in January 2021 because of the pandemic. After the closure, local families the Waldrops, the Callaways and the Mileys worked together to renovate and reopen the donut shop.
The shop was not coming back under the previous owners, he said, and the group of families that became business partners worked to bring the Golden Donut back to life.
The challenge has not only been to keep the shop successful, Miley said, but to ensure that the experience is what local residents are used to. The current ownership is working hard to preserve the shop, he said.
“(There is a lot of) hard work, blood, sweat and tears that have gone into getting it back up and keeping it a staple of Columbus,” Miley said.
