LOCAL: Brands, Businesses + Entrepreneurs | #09 | Dudes Donuts
Kitsap is full of incredible brands, businesses and entrepreneurs who make shopping for unique items in Kitsap a fun adventure.
Dudes Donuts
Easton & Amanda Shepard, FOUNDERS
Website | Instagram | Facebook
*Dudes Donuts was acquired by Matt Grady, owner of Pegasus Coffee in 2022. You can learn more about Matt and the Pegasus story in BBE Issue #17.
Photos provided by Dudes Donuts
About Easton + Amanda
What was your first job?
Easton: “Collecting grocery carts at a local grocery store.”
Amanda: “Maintenance work in a residence hall at Treasure Valley Community College.”
Where do you draw inspiration/creativity in your life?
“We draw our inspiration from our ability to be adventurous and try new flavors + decorating ideas with our donuts. As our business grows, we look to offer more than just a donut menu, which will lead us into more creative avenues as well.”
Pictured: Easton Shepard + Matt Grady
About Dudes Donuts
How did the idea of starting Dudes Donuts begin?
“Easton and I started Dude’s Donuts shortly after deciding we were going to start a family. We had been playing with the idea of starting a business for over a year and our growing family was all the motivation we needed to get it started. We were gifted $3,000 from Easton’s former employer, Ayla Savage, owner of Fillabong, Inc. Ayla hosted our first pop up event at Fillabong where we had people sample some of our very first donut recipes. Without her first believing in our donut dream, it wouldn’t have been possible.
We then began at the local farmers markets in Bremerton, Port Orchard, and Silverdale in the summer of 2019. We started with baked vegan donuts but had so many requests for gluten-free too - that’s when the Dude’s gluten-free/vegan donuts were created! Our cake donut recipes are also soy-free (except for our sprinkles and the coconut used as topping on some donuts, they contain soy lectin). We spend a lot of time sourcing the best ingredients possible like organic, unprocessed sugar, fresh seasonal fruit, and other local products to help make our donuts even more delicious. It’s also important to us that we do not use any preservatives or unnatural dyes in our recipes.”
The Genesis
Tell us the story of how Dudes Donuts came to fruition.
“We then branched out to selling our donuts through online preorder for pick up in different spots around Kitsap and Pierce County and are now available every Thursday-Sunday for pick up. Preorder helps us to keep our product waste extremely low and quality assurance because all donuts are made by hand in small batches.
We really appreciate the help from our friends at Kitsap Community Coop in Bremerton, Liv A Latte & Fuelrz in Silverdale, Caffe Cocina in Poulsbo, Frenchie’s Coffee in Port Orchard, Happy Belly Eatery & Juice Bear & Viva Tacoma in Tacoma for opening up their businesses to us as pick up locations for our donuts every week. We also cater events and have special large order pricing.”
Tell us what/who drives you to keep working hard towards your goals.
“We truly cherish the amount of time we get to spend together as a family because of what we’ve created with Dudes. From marketing to the delivery of the donuts, it’s just the two of us making it happen. It’s a lot of work having a toddler and a year-old business, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Love Kitsap
Tell us your fave local drink spot - coffee, tea, wine, tequila, whatever!
“We love Caffe Cocina in Poulsbo. They have such a great food & drink menu and we love their back patio!”
Tell us your fave local spot for a comfort meal - what do you always order?
“Family Thai in Silverdale is our favorite - no question about it. It feels like meeting up with family when we come in and the food is the best around. We always order the Pharam and mango sticky rice.”
Live Kitsap
Out of town guests are coming for the weekend. What is the most important thing you share with them about Kitsap? Where do you absolutely have to take them?
“We love taking guests to the Point No Point lighthouse and beach. It’s a beautiful drive there and the beach is fantastic. We actually got married there a few years ago, so it’s a very special spot. Our three dogs really enjoy going there as well! We also love walking the stores of downtown Poulsbo and Port Orchard!”
Thrive in Kitsap
Where are your favorite place(s) to get outside. What do you do when you go?
“We love the Clear Creek Trail and the Poulsbo Fish Park. We also love driving out to Port Townsend and going to Sea Glass beach. Pretty much if it’s outside, we are down to explore!”
our connections + friendships with local brands, businesses + entrepreneurs is something that makes living in kitsap truly unique. You aren’t just supporting a business, you’re growing relationships.
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