New York's Doughnut Plant is preparing to open a storefront at 1285 First Avenue near East 69th Street in Lenox Hill, adding another prominent doughnut shop to the Upper East Side. Building signage at the address reads “opening soon,” but the company has not announced an official launch date.
WhatNow reported the planned location and identified Mark Isreal as Doughnut Plant's founder. Isreal began the business in 1994, making doughnuts from his grandfather's recipes and delivering them by bicycle to neighborhood coffee shops.
The planned storefront is between East 69th and East 70th Streets, near the 72nd Street Q station's Second Avenue entrances. A Compass video citing real estate disclosures identifies October 2026 as a target opening, though that timing remains unconfirmed.
A Menu Built On Decades of Firsts
Doughnut Plant is known for yeast-raised doughnuts in round and square shapes, with fillings and toppings that include fruit, nuts and custard, according to the WhatNow report. One signature is its crème brûlée doughnut, which combines vanilla bean custard with a sugar topping caramelized by hand.
Doughnut Plant's About page says the company developed an eggless cake doughnut and makes its glazes, jams and fillings in-house. The brand also offers vegan and gluten-free choices, and The New York Times has described its products as “doughnuts of the gods.”
From a Basement Startup to a Global Name
Doughnut Plant opened its first permanent retail storefront at 379 Grand Street on the Lower East Side in 2000, with help from Isreal's father and brother, following six years operating out of that original tenement basement, according to the Village Voice. The brand went international in 2004, expanding to Tokyo in partnership with entrepreneur Jun Goto, per the Los Angeles Times.
The company later expanded beyond the Lower East Side, with locations reported in Chelsea, Prospect Heights, Long Island City, Grand Central Terminal and Williamsburg, according to WhatNow. A 2017 Hoodline analysis ranked Doughnut Plant No. 2 nationally and No. 1 in New York City, based on an average of 4.5 stars across more than 2,800 Yelp reviews, according to Hoodline's own 2017 ranking.
Transit Access and the Current Store Network
According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the 72nd Street Q station is ADA accessible and has entrances at Second Avenue and East 72nd Street, between East 69th and East 70th Streets, and at East 69th Street. The MTA says approximately 4 million subway trips take place on a typical weekday, while its origin-destination dataset can help estimate how riders arrive near businesses; the cited materials do not provide a station-specific ridership figure for 72nd Street. Doughnut Plant's official site currently lists a Prospect Heights shop at 245 Flatbush Avenue, offering the brand's full menu along with vegan and gluten-free options, according to the company's location page.
Lenox Hill's Crowded New Doughnut Scene
The Upper East Side has become an unlikely battleground for doughnut shops this year. West Coast chain Randy's Donuts signed a lease in June 2026 amid a broader neighborhood shakeup that included the February closure of local favorite Caroline's Donuts on Second Avenue, according to Traded.
With Doughnut Plant's craft pricing set against an incoming national chain and the recent loss of a neighborhood staple, it remains to be seen whether Lenox Hill and its surrounding blocks can support multiple high-profile doughnut destinations at once. For now, all eyes are on that “opening soon” sign at 1285 First Avenue, where an October debut is expected but not yet confirmed.
