Square Donuts will officially open its new store Tuesday, after having an unadvertised soft opening over the weekend.
The business is moving from its current location on Walnut Street to a new building on 17th and College Avenue.
The new space is large and open, featuring modern design with sleek furniture and lots of windows and light.
Branden and Nikki Johnson, owners of the Bloomington Square Donuts franchises, said the modern style and setup of the new building is the main reason they decided to move.
The building opened the same year the Square Donuts Walnut Street location lease was ending.
“You have parking in the front, as well as dedicated parking in the back,” Branden Johnson said. “You have a drive-thru window, as well. In the 10 years we’ve been here, this is the best new building that I’ve seen, as far as a setup for what we do.”
At the old location, the pair had to work with what was already there, Branden Johnson said.
The new location was a blank slate, so they were able to plan everything out the way they wanted it, he said.
“The new location is about as inviting as it could possibly be,” Branden Johnson said.
“I think our current customers will be pleasantly surprised by the feel of the new store.”
The biggest challenge with the new location was moving the equipment, Nikki Johnson said.
The mixer, which weighs 1,200 pounds, had to be carried by four men through the front door.
“It was nail-biting,” Branden Johnson said. “I was very nervous.”
Branden and Nikki Johnson, who are both IU graduates, learned about Square Donuts growing up in Terre Haute, Indiana, where the original store — which opened in 1967 — is located.
“When we were younger, back in high school, people always wondered, why aren’t there other Square Donuts?” Nikki Johnson said. “We pretty much didn’t eat donuts the whole time we were at IU. We didn’t know any donuts shops close by.”
The Johnsons opened the first Bloomington Square Donuts franchise in 2006 at the Walnut Street location.
Square Donuts attracts all kinds of customers — students, families and the elderly, Nikki Johnson said.
“Probably the only people we don’t get are people who are very, very healthy,” Nikki Johnson said. “But even they splurge every once in a while.”
