In a quiet North Portland kitchen just off Peninsula Park, a long-dormant family recipe is suddenly the hottest ticket in the neighborhood. Baker Sean Carmack has brought back his family's "spudnut" doughnut, a potato-based twist on the classic ring, using the same recipe his great-grandfather carried west in the 1950s. Since launching Carmack's Doughnuts in January, he has been pulling in early-morning lines and weekend sellouts with small-batch runs baked under Oregon's cottage-food rules, and neighbors are already talking about whether this pop-up could grow into a full-time corner bakery.
Home-baked pop-up on Peninsula Park's doorstep
As reported by Axios, Carmack bakes out of a home kitchen at 5927 N. Borthwick Ave. and opens Thursday through Sunday from 8:05 a.m. to noon or until everything is gone. Local property data also lists the address in the Peninsula Park area, according to property records.
Family recipe with Utah roots
The Carmack family spudnut dates to 1953, when a relative took over a small doughnut shop in Bountiful, Utah. That original business later closed after a fire and an unsuccessful attempt to bring it back, according to local historical reporting. The Deseret News has chronicled the family's long run with spudnut-style doughnuts and the ups and downs of the Bountiful shop.
Small menu, big demand
According to Axios, Carmack keeps the lineup tight. The rotating selection features a classic glaze, rose, black walnut, cardamom-cinnamon and hefty fried cinnamon rolls finished with either chocolate or vanilla. Carmack says the potato-based dough gives the doughnuts a potato-roll-like fluffiness, and weekend sales have picked up momentum as word keeps spreading.
A test kitchen for a neighborhood bakery
Operations like Carmack's have become a common way for up-and-coming bakers to try out ideas before signing a lease. Public-health groups and industry guides have been tracking how cottage-food businesses fit into local food systems while staying on regulators' good side. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials has described how agencies are trying to balance food-safety oversight with the rapid rise of home-kitchen sellers, as outlined by ASTHO.
For now, Carmack's Doughnuts is still a small-scale operation, but those steady lines and quick sellouts suggest the spudnut may be headed for a more permanent spot in North Portland's food scene. The shop runs Thursday through Sunday from 8:05 a.m. to noon or until sold out at 5927 N. Borthwick Ave.
