WICKER PARK — Another snowy day didn't keep the hungry and curious away from checking out a new retro-style doughnut shop in Wicker Park on its opening morning Wednesday.
Mark Flaharty, a Roscoe Village resident, was driving back home from working out at a gym around 6:30 a.m. when he saw that Stan's Donuts & Coffee at 1560 N. Damen Ave. was open.
Flaharty, who was wearing shorts despite the cold weather, picked up an espresso for himself and a half-dozen doughnuts to bring back to his family.
"We were just in Los Angeles for vacation and went to Stan's Donuts there," Flaharty said.
Stan's Donuts offer yeast-raised and cake doughnuts and is a partnership between 83-year-old Stan Berman, owner of Los Angeles-based Stan's Donuts, and baker Rich Labriola, who sold most of his stake in Labriola Baking Co. in June to focus on being a restaurateur.
At the end of the day, general manager John Meyer said that glazed and old-fashioned doughnuts were the best sellers.
"A lot of people showed up, can't wait for warmer weather," Meyer said.
The menu at Stan's, just south of the Milwaukee, Damen and North avenues intersection, offers 26 varieties, though 12 are on display daily.
Menu highlights include chocolate glazed, and three types of old-fashioned (lemon, orange and chocolate) as well as a jelly-filled bismarck and yeast-raised pistachio glaze.
Also offered are three "pockets," stuffed with a choice of peanut butter and chocolate, peanut butter and banana pocket, or chocolate cream cheese; apple and blueberry fritters, chocolate pretzel twist, and a maple caramel bacon bar.
For photos of all the doughnuts, visit stansdonutschicago.com.
Doughnuts range between $1.75 and $3.25 each, while drinks begin at $1.79 for a jug of milk to $4.50 for a flavored latte.
There's an extensive coffee bar menu that includes drip coffee, single brews and espresso, as well as lattes. Flavors can be added to any drink for 75 cents and most drinks can be served over ice.
Users of Yelp.com have already begun to weigh in the shop, with five reviews posted as of Thursday.
Yelp member Lupe C., who purchased a half-dozen assortment of doughnuts wrote, "Lord help me ... there are not enough hours in the day for me to work off what I will be eating here!"
Another Yelp member described a chocolate-glazed doughnut as "so light and pillowy."
Stan's Donuts & Coffee, 1560 N. Damen Ave. Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Ph: 773-360-7386.
