The Donut Cooperative

I had a pretty epic Sunday afternoon yesterday that included farmers markets, thrifting, high-​end boutiques and grown-​up trick-​or-​treating… for donuts. I’d say my chocolate toffee donut was a highlight, especially when consumed outside on a warm fall day. And with a friend who ordered a pumpkin spice donut and likes to share.
Since I work from home, I’m always on the lookout for new laptopping hangouts. I never would’ve thought to come to The Donut Co-​op for coffee/​working, but it’s actually a cute little shop for that very thing.
There were a few young ladies who looked like they were studying, and a steady stream of people taking sweet tooth satiation to go. The atmosphere is what someone might call hipster twee? It’s adorable, but kinda rough around the edges in some ways. The good ways.
They had about 10 different kinds of donuts available (they rotate constantly), including two vegan kinds. I like raised donuts a bit better than cake donuts, so I enjoyed my Heath-​like donut a bit better than the pumpkin. The pumpkin was moist and flavorful and would be perfect served with chai though. Neither were mind-​blowingly good, but still really good. I mean, even at their worst, donuts are still miles ahead of other foods.
One important note: Your mom was right when she told you to go before you left home, because the bathroom here is out of order right now.

Not gonna lie– I don’t crave donuts very much. Donuts aren’t in my wheelhouse of baked-​goods addiction. But this place is two blocks from my house (TWO.BLOCKS.) and so we hit it up last weekend before a doorknocking shift. This place is going to be worth its weight in gold once it gets too cold for me to trek across town for coffee + baked goods.
Solid donuts, and interesting flavors. I had the apple crumble, which was totally delicious in a crunchy-​soft-​sweet-​almost-​boozy kind of way. The most expensive donut here is about $ 2.25, so you’ll be sure to find something in your price point.
Their quiche is fine– nothing to write home about, but it comes with a side salad, justifying the $ 4 pricing. Their coffee was OK. And their basil cheddar scone was also OK.
Honestly, this place would generally get three stars EXCEPT it’s a worker-​owned cooperative. A BAKERY. CO-​OP. It’s like a progressive butter-lover’s unicorn. You’re supporting a business that is not only local, but committed to its employees and opens up avenues for them to become co-​owners. That is freaking hot.

After reading some of the reviews, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Overall, pleasantly surprised.
I found my Cherry Amaretto raised donut non-​greasy (good), but the almond flavor in the glaze was a bit overpowering, giving it that artifical almond taste (bad). The cherry part was delightful! I read some of their donut menu & on the day of my visit didn’t see many of the interesting varieties they’d had listed (Butterscotch Salted Potato Chip, I need to know when they make those).
They also make these cute Whoopie pies, about 2″ in diameter, try one. Or two! Sweet Potato with a ginger filling, nice combo. The Cornbread with Jalapeño Cream Cheese was heaven with it’s little slice of bacon happily nestled between the two cakes.
They make a good latte too!

Shop local!
I love a place that has a heart and was created with someone’s own imagination and drive. This is one of those places to me.
Love the cozy décor and the gals behind the counter were very thoughtful and helpful.
More people need to assist our local small businesses by trying this place out!
I see an array of ratings and comments, but don’t let any of that detour your visit as there is something for everyone!
We adore your macaroons! To die for!

Donut Cooperative is a sweet, sweet little café.
They are quite intrepid with their baked goods; not only donuts are to be found here! That said, the other, non-​donut items are where it’s at. Ever-​changing and experimental, the bars, cookies, breads, and cakes are always a good bet. As is the granola.
Donut Cooperative is a great place to study indoors (great décor! the wallpaper, heavens me!), and has a lovely outdoor seating area with picnic tables and loungey chairs under trees on a quite street in Seward.
I highly recommend DoCo if you’re interested in stopping in for a surprise baked treat!

They were out of vegan donuts on my first visit here, but they did have a sandwich filled with cashew pâté and pickled vegetables as well as vegan chocolate chip macaroons. Both were out-​of-​this-​world delicious. I can’t wait to go back for more indulgences.

After my husband brought donuts home from here, I did the impossible: Met a donut I did not like.
Seriously. I don’t know what’s wrong with their batter, or whatever, but not good. I was sad. Donuts should be better. And I tried three different types. Each one worse than the next. The donut holes were okay, but eh. No. I’d rather eat the day old ones from Super America.

I am bummed! I bike by there all the time, always closed. I finally biked past, saw it open and grabbed my chance, getting a cinnamon sugar donut and it was not good. :(
The atmosphere is super cute, it was busy and the brunch looked good. I also heard the kid next to me talk about how good his dad’s cinnamon roll was so that is great!
I am going to give it another chance but my donut really did not taste good at all.

Saturday morning donuts! Hooray!
Their printed list of donut flavors hangs on outside of their bakery case. Different flavors are different prices.
I think it would be more customer friendly to have the flavor name tacked to the tray of the appropriate flavored donut. It seemed time consuming to point to cakes behind the glass and ask, «what is that flavor?» and then find yourself talking to the glass and the person on the other side looking down and talking on the other side of the glass.
I got two: a sugar-​cinnamon one and also a butter pecan something or another.
In biting into each one, I found them to be kind of cakey-​yeasty, without much «flavor» in the cake. The flavor seemed to be only on the sweet topping.
I prefer the taste and texture of the donuts at A Baker’s Wife.

I am a fan of the owner, her quirky concept and her mad baking skills. Queen of the kitchen.

In the area so thought I would stop in and grab a few donuts this morning. Service was great as were the donuts. One note for anyone getting donuts to go, if they are hot and they have chocolate ganache on them as for them to be bagged separately, as the ganache tends to melt and run in the bag.

I’ve been waiting to go to The Donut Cooperative since before it opened, and when I found myself in the Seward neighborhood this morning, I could finally make the stop. The place is so cute, what you’d expect out of a small donut shop. They had about 10 different varieties to choose from, which was a good selection to me. I asked the guy behind the counter what his favorites were– he said the Egg Nog donut or the Butterscotch Potato Chip donut. So I took his advice and ordered the Butterscotch Potato Chip. WOW! This has got to be one of the best tasting donuts I’ve ever had. The donut itself is an old-​fashioned cake donut, soft and dense on the inside but has a nice crunch on the outside. It’s topped with rich butterscotch icing and fresh crispy, salty potato chips. What a surprising and delicious combination!
The only downside is that the donuts are a little expensive, mine was $ 2.50 for 1 donut.

I made my 1^st outing to the Donut Cooperative last week, and it was well worth the trip. I ordered their pumpkin cake and eggnog donuts, as well as got my espresso fix for the day.
The donuts were incredible. Kudos to the creative ways in which a cake donut can be made and presented! Coffee was good. All in all a great experience. Plus a great place to meet a friend and chat while eating those yummy donuts.

First off-​the décor of this place is really cute! I kind of wished it was a boutique so I could buy some of the decorations.
As for the donuts-​when I went at 11:15 in the morning on a Saturday, they had about two kinds in the case, and neither of them appealed to me or my friend, so I went with a big slice of donut bread pudding, and it was pretty good! They take donuts, cranberries, and nuts and then create a slice-​able bread pudding and sell it for $ 2.25.
The thing is, though, is I wish they had more donuts. It was a Saturday (late) morning, and they didn’t really have much to choose from. The two kinds they did have weren’t labeled, so you couldn’t really tell what flavor they were. I was happy with what I got, but if you’re coming for a donut, there might be a chance they won’t have them, which is kind of a bummer.
My friend got a pumpkin whoopie pie that was filled with marshmallow crème. She and I thought it was a little dry, so I’m glad I got the donut pudding. We also both ordered a coffee, and while the coffee was good, the to-​go cups were awful! I know that they were ‘eco’ and green and that is great, but seriously neither of our lids would stay on and the coffee ended up spilling over our coats and that kinda sucked.
All in all, I think I would go back here. One of my best friends lives a couple blocks away, and we do a lot of stuff on weekend mornings, so this will be perfect for a treat. I just hope they’ll have some actual donuts, and next time, I’ll forgo the coffee and get a Joia ;)

I’m so sad to be disappointed about The Donut Cooperative. Like others have said, I was really looking forward to it.
When you first walk in, it reeks of grease– and not at all in a good way. The smell clings to your skin and clothes for the rest of the day– yuck. Also, seating is limited and awkward. I know it’s a small space, but The Cliquot Club managed to fit quite a bit of seating in there, so I know it’s possible. When we went up to the counter, the case next to the register held a few random scones and a quiche or two. The donuts were hidden in another case to the left of that– you couldn’t even see them from the register. I’m not sure why they wouldn’t put the donuts up front and center, but that might be a good idea!
The selection was decent– maybe 9 choices (we were there on a Thursday around 10a.m.), but the donuts looked lifeless– you could tell they were going to be greasy and dense and the grease had compromised their appearance. We tried three different kinds, and they were all made similar by their grease content.
I have started to think that building must be cursed. I want something to succeed there so badly! Hopefully, though, The Donut Cooperative will iron out their kinks and become successful!

It pains me to do this… it truly does. I’ve followed this business from when they were still on kickstarter and patiently waited as their opening day kept being delayed.
The donuts just weren’t good. Granted, we only got two of the iced donuts with sprinkles… but that’s because they barely had anything left. Maybe their «specialty» flavors are better, but one would think that a donut shop would have solid basic donuts too. A hint: don’t go at the end of the day. We went right before two.
The texture was alright. They’re crispy on the outside and perfectly cake-​y on the inside. The flavor however… they tasted odd. The first couple bites were good but there was a weird, savory/​bitter aftertaste. Like, «I need to get this taste out of my mouth» bad. My fellow taste-​testers agreed. It might have to do with the oil they’re using or if it isn’t being replaced enough? The crispy outside really holds onto the grease so any issues with the oil are going to be pretty apparent. The last couple bites of my donut were vaguely perfume-​y. Not sure what that was about.
The hours are super incompatible with my schedule which is also unfortunate. Hopefully they’ll expand those.
Two stars instead of one because of the adorable logo.

Great donuts, especially the vegan ones! I brought half a dozen to the guys at my dad’s work and they were super excited. I like how they are really crispy on the outside, but still moist in the middle. They were greasy, but it wasn’t greasy enough to be unappealing. But I hope there is some answer to cutting the grease a little (maybe frying in Crisco rather than oil? I don’t know what they are frying in now?). Not that I am expecting health food in a donut shop.
Mine weren’t thrown in a bag like previously mentioned in some reviews, but packed in a neat little box. And I got a Joia soda, which was an instant bonus.
I feel like it very, very unfair to rate a place poorly just because you don’t agree with their business hours. There are many businesses, like Al’s Breakfast or Russian Tea House that I only get to enjoy on occasion because I work or go to school. This isn’t the businesses fault. It’s their job to make the donuts.

I was extremely enthusiastic about Donut Cooperative since I first saw their Kickstarter. Told all my friends. Coworkers. Etc. And I collected a large group last Sunday to try it out. Alas, they were closed. I knew it was closed on Mondays, but their second weekend open and they were closed on a Sunday? And the excuse on the door: they needed rest. Well, I get tired on my «Fridays» but I still show up when I’m expected. Especially when I’m two weeks into a new job.
I’m reluctant to try it out as many people say that they have few varieties remaining in the mid morning (when I get up on the weekend). And they don’t have enough ready for you to get a dozen or two for the office.

I am a donut fanatic, so I was VERY excited to hear this place was opening. To be fair, I didn’t actually try any donuts here but that was only because they didn’t really have any. Yes, they were closing in about 40 minutes, but it was still very disappointing to arrive only to find a few cookies available. The other problem is the hours. They are only open 6:00 am — 2:30 pm, which pretty much means it will never be open when I have a donut craving and am not at work. The place is cute, but not practical for me. Bummer.

Checked it out this morning for the first time. At 9:30 on a Sunday the place was packed, and they couldn’t get the donuts made fast enough! This has got to be a good problem to have for a business that’s only been open a couple days. When I got to the front of the line, a super nice gentleman behind the counter offered me a coffee cup with a shotglass-​sized taste of fresh roasted coffee. Yum, and a nice touch after waiting for about 15 minutes.
The only donuts they had were the powdered sugar, and cinnamon/​sugar donut holes. There were gingersnap/​marshmallow cream whoopie pies, and pumpkin cake cookies. So, not a lot of variety, but something I think will fix itself (hopefully!) as they get a routine going.
The donuts were wonderful. It helped that they were fresh out of the oven. You can tell they are made with fresh ingredients, and lot of love. The donut holes were more cinnamon than sugar, which actually tasted really good. Powdered sugar donuts had a healthy dusting of sugar on top, and on the warm donut, the sugar just sort of melted into the crust. I should have gotten a second one. Coffee was excellent, and bonus points for having coconut milk as an option alongside the half&half and skim.
Inside is very warm and inviting, and even when packed with people. Love the decoration of those chemistry class glass flask things (whatever they’re called), filled with colored sugar and sprinkles. Very cute.
Good luck, Donut Cooperative! Looking forward to trying the rest of your donuts.