New donut shop moves into the Kingston Emporium
Local couple brings experience from Allie’s Donuts to new donut shop in the URI Emporium. PHOTO CREDIT: Melissa Marchese
A new donut shop, RI Guys Donuts, has opened in the Kingston Emporium, bringing over 30 flavors of donuts, donut cakes and breakfast food to hungry students.
The shop, located at 99 Fortin Road, opened on Oct. 8 in partnership with Coffee ‘n Bagel Connection in Bonnet Shores.
RI Guys boasts over 30 flavors of donuts, including Maple Bacon and Fruity Pebbles, which have become extremely popular with students, according to co-owner Samantha Zeolla. In addition to donuts, the shop offers coffee, bagels, muffins and breakfast sandwiches.
One of their most popular sandwiches is the “Rhody Slammah,” a concoction of a bacon or sausage egg and cheese sandwich held between glazed donut buns.
Zeolla explained that their shop has experienced a lot of success so far, and attributed this to the students and local community members that frequent the Emporium.
“Donuts are big in Rhode Island, there’s a big market for them,” Zeolla said. “People love donuts, they’ll eat them whenever.”
Zeolla, a graduate of URI’s nursing program, opened the shop with her husband Ryan, the former general manager of Allie’s Donuts, following the two parties’ split. She described Ryan’s departure as “local Rhode Island drama.”
RI Guys specializes in donut cakes, which are full-size cakes made from the same dough as the donuts and which can be customized for parties or events. Zeolla explained that donut cakes are a popular item that can be made in nearly any shape or size.
The donuts are prepared overnight, where they are each hand-cut and frosted, which makes every single one unique, according to Zeolla. This in-house production also allows customers to custom order donuts.
“Obviously some donuts are smaller and some are bigger, but they’re all made with love,” Zeolla said. “People ask us for custom stuff all the time, we’ll go ahead and make it because we make them all here.”
She said that the Emporium turned out to be a great location for the shop. The ventilation system from the prior owners was necessary for the shop to even open, and saved the owners about $20,000 to install a new system.
“When I was in college here, this used to be BAGELZ, and there was always a line there,” Zeolla said. “I knew that with kids getting back, that there’d be great foot traffic.”
RI Guys Donuts is the only donut shop in the Emporium and they hope to be able to share donuts with the URI community and beyond.
“We’re trying to be like a mom-and-pop donut shop with trendy donuts,” Zeolla said. She noted that their donuts aren’t as expensive as their competitors.
Students are their primary customers, so they hope to balance the quality of their donuts with affordability, according to Zeolla. She also said RI Guys is already starting to accrue some regulars.
“It’s a cool spot, I like it,” sophomore Griffin Martin said. “I like that there’s coffee and donuts, so it’s a good morning or afternoon spot, especially when everything else up here is like dinner.”
In terms of the future, Zeolla remains hopeful that RI Guys can continue to serve the students of URI.