The Salty Donut May Have the Prettiest Donuts on All of Instagram
There's a difference between cute, artsy donuts on Instagram and gorgeous artisanal ones. The donuts at The Salty Donut definitely belong to the latter group.
The Miami-based donut shops have attracted attention not just because their donuts look incredible, but also because they're made with great ingredients, and they taste unbelievable, too. We spoke with Danny Pizarro, the director of marketing at The Salty Donut, to find out exactly makes the shop tick, and how its donuts became so Insta-Worthy.
The Inspiration
Danny Pizarro: Amanda and Andy Rodriguez came up with the idea while dating—they're now married and recently had their first baby. It all started from a love and passion for food and hospitality. There was a clear lack of authentic, ingredient-focused, experience-driven food and business concepts in Miami and they wanted to be a part of that revolution and help change the culinary landscape. When looking at donut shops specifically, there weren't any in Miami that were serving artisanal, chef-made, craft donuts and that's the direction that we decided to go in.
What differentiates us from many other donut shops is our insane focus on customer experience and hospitality. With our shops, we build them from the ground up keeping this in mind. From the way that people enter the shop and are greeted by our friendly staff, to the seasonal menu offerings, to the communal seating in each store. We focus on fostering experiences, conversations, and togetherness, which are the building blocks for our company and what we stand for.
Getting Started
DP: After a year of recipe creation and concept development, we launched a pop-up shop in a parking lot in Wynwood, Florida selling donuts out of our vintage 1950s Aljoa camper. Over a few weeks, the lines grew longer and the press mentions started to pick up, and we turned this space into a fully covered and welcoming area serving coffee and donuts night and day. We converted what once was an empty parking lot into a space where people would take their entire families, couples would go on first-dates, strangers would make new friends, and we even had a proposal happen using our donuts there!
This is when we realized that what we were building was so much more than just the best donuts in town, but also a community where everyone is welcomed and everyone feels a special connection through the experience that we provide. After about a year at the pop-up, we opened our first retail shop across the street in Wynwood. Fast forward to three years later and we just recently opened our second shop in South Miami. We're proud to say that we're always looking at ways we can push the boundaries of our donuts and experience and can't wait to continue to grow and call even more communities across the world our home.
Most Insta-Worthy Donut
DP: Since our menu is half year-round flavors—flavors that are always on the menu—and half seasonal flavors—rotating flavors that switch out every handful of weeks)—it's so tough to pick just one! I'd say from our year-round flavors, our White Chocolate Tres Leches is the most Instagrammable donut and one of our fan-faves.
From our seasonal menu, I'd have to say that last year's Halloween special, Black + Red, was a huge hit on Instagram, as well as our Super Bowl donuts and current Dragon + Passion Fruit flavor. They're all pretty darn Instagrammable now that I think about it!
Tastiest Donut
DP: Currently, I'd have to say that our Mango + Coconut Croughnut is really hitting the spot for me. We take our homemade croughnuts (a croissant-donut hybrid) and roll them in pineapple-infused sugar and fill them with mango and coconut custard and top them with dollops of coconut buttercream and homemade paté de fruit. Need I say more?
Most Underrated Donut
DP: I wouldn't say it's underrated since it's the favorite of many people, but I love our Brown Butter + Salt donut. It's a vanilla bean cake donut glazed in a brown butter glaze and topped with Maldon sea salt. It has the perfect texture and pairs perfectly with a hot latte on the side. To make things even more interesting, I like pairing it with our Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal Milk Latte.
What's Next?
DP: I can't spill the beans on the flavors that we're currently testing for upcoming releases, but we have some really amazing flavors in the works for the upcoming Halloween and Christmas seasons.
You can also click HERE to let The Salty Donut know where you'd like to see them next, and be sure to follow them HERE on Instagram.
Planning your visit to The Salty Donut? Click HERE for cute Insta captions to pair with your donut pics.