A Southern California donut shop has set up shop in Salt Lake City's East Bench, bringing scratch-made specialty, classic and seasonal donuts to Utah along with gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan options baked with an eye toward keeping cross-contamination out of the mix. JD Flannel Donuts & Coffee makes everything fresh throughout the day, and the people behind it say the goal is simple: give everyone at the table something to eat together.
The shop is JD Flannel's second location and recently opened in the East Bench area, according to The Daily Utah Chronicle. It follows the debut of the company's first Utah storefront at Foothill Village on June 3, per a report from KSL, which noted the donut shop was among five new tenants joining the shopping center this year. Co-owner Dave Rhode described the approach to baking in blunt terms: “We make everything from scratch, by hand and just in time.”
Two Old Friends, One Turkey Fryer
Rhode and co-founder John Miller have been friends for more than 45 years, and the idea for a donut business came together in 2017 while the pair was out fishing in Montana, Rhode told the Chronicle. Before donuts, Miller worked in finance and Rhode worked in sales, careers the two eventually left behind to chase a shared idea born on a fishing trip.
Back home, the two started experimenting in their own backyards, spending about five to six months developing recipes using a small turkey fryer that could only fit two donuts at a time, the same report states. That slow, small-batch process eventually grew into a full storefront operation now expanding into Utah.
Built-In Safeguards for Dietary Restrictions
JD Flannel offers gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan donuts alongside its standard lineup, and the shop has built several steps into its process aimed at limiting cross-contamination, per the same account. There's a separate fryer dedicated to gluten-free items, along with a distinct sanitized area for rolling and cutting dough away from the rest of the kitchen.
Every tray in the shop is designated exclusively for either gluten-free or vegan products, and staff use different-colored tongs depending on which items they're handling, with gluten-free and other donuts packaged separately, the outlet reports. Still, JD Flannel is upfront that it isn't a dedicated gluten-free bakery and acknowledges that gluten could still be present in the air, according to the same report.
A Mission Built Around Sharing
Rhode said people with dietary restrictions should have something they can enjoy right alongside everyone else, rather than sitting out while friends or family eat. He and Miller describe that as central to the business, framing memorable food experiences as something that matters broadly to customers, not just to those with allergies or intolerances.
The donut world in Utah already has its own local favorite: ABC4 reported that Yelp's Elite Squad reviewers named Fresh Donut & Deli in Salt Lake City as the state's top pick in a nationwide list released ahead of National Doughnut Day, the same list that crowned JD Flannel's original San Juan Capistrano shop as California's best. That original SoCal location, still listed on Yelp with its Del Obispo Street address, is where the concept first built its reputation before expanding east.
