THE LONG AWAITED OPENING OF TAYL R’S D NUTS

After delays, a new bakery opens across the street from LHS

BY BELLA BELL STAFF REPORTER

This fall, a new “local flavor” was added to the culture of Lawrence. Nestled between the LHS and KU campuses, Taylor’s Donuts is welcoming Chesty Lions and Jayhawks alike.

This fall, it opened its doors in a series of “soft-launches” designed to build a customer base while safely establishing its staff and operations. While Taylor’s originally hoped to open last spring,it was pushed back to this September.

“This project had its fair share of interruptions,” owner Taylor Petrehn said. “It’s coming up on three years from when we originally set out to rebuild this place .”

Taylor’s Donuts would to many be a dubious enterprise, as it is located in a repurposed collage laundromat, but its sister cafe, 1900 Barker, also located in a laundromat and has been incredibly successful.

A lot of the initial positive reaction to Taylor’s Donuts has come from its connection to 1900 Barker, which is also located close to LHS.

“I like how 1900 Barker is in a little house — it’s very cute, very cozy,” senior Katie Hurd said. “I go with some of my friends, and it’s just so fun.”

Barker has been a staple coffee shop for the Lawrence community since it opened, and it looks like the donut shop will be following suit.

Despite the connections with 1900 Barker, Taylor’s Donuts offers a different experience.

“Taylor’s Donuts will be a small, chic donut shop experience focused on using premium ingredients to make delicious and memorable donuts,” Petrehn said.

—Taylor owner of Taylor’s Donut’s

Their menu will offer coffee, soft-serve ice cream, grab-and-go snacks, and, of course, donuts.

Petrehn is aiming to cater to high school students grabbing snacks and coffee before and after school, and has expressed hopes of interacting with the high school community.

“We love the fact that the high school is right across the street,” Petrehn said. “Lots of memories are made in high school, and we hope that we can help [make] some pretty great ones for the students at LHS for years and years.”

Their focus on making memories fits right in with the small, local culture of Lawrence.

“There’s a lot of little coffee shops that make living in Lawrence very special,” Hurd said.

Once regular hours are established after the soft-openings, Taylor’s Donuts will become an ideal place for students to get together, hang out, and bond with each other and with their community.

Additionally, Taylor’s Donuts is connecting with LHS by including students in its workforce..

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Room 308 covers the bakery’s opening

“I feel like they’re getting a lot of business and they’re going to keep getting a lot of business,” senior Tate Landes said.

Landes works at Taylor’s after school and during the weekends.

“I feel like they’re getting a lot of business and they’re going to keep getting a lot of business,” said Landes.