BUSINESS

Business is just ducky for Chandler donut bakery

BY KEN SAIN

Arizonan Staff Writer

It might be an oversimplification to say the reason that there is a Duck Donuts franchise in Arizona because of a wife’s craving during pregnancy. But it’s not far from the truth.

Daniel Bruno said he and his wife fell in love with the North Carolina-based donuts franchise while vacationing in the Outer Banks. During his wife’s first pregnancy, she got a craving for something sweet and sent her husband out to find something.

“So, I went out, in the town of Duck, and I was asking people, ‘Hey, my wife’s pregnant, could you suggest something.’ ‘Get her Duck Donuts.’ ‘What’s that?’ ‘You smell that in the air, follow your nose.’”

He did – and brought his wife a Duck Dozen.

Fast forward a few years and the Brunos are living in Arizona and expecting their second child.

“She’s having cravings one night, ‘I want Duck Donuts.’ Man, we’re living in Arizona, it’s not happening, so she’s like,

Duck Donuts owner Daniel Bruno displays some of his fare at his Ocotillo bakery.

(David Minton/Arizonan Staff Photographer)

‘figure it out!’” And that is how the first Duck Donuts location in Arizona came to Chandler, one of more than 100 franchises across the nation.

Duck Donuts is different from traditional bakeries.

Instead making their donuts with yeast-based dough that takes a while to rise, they use white cake dough. Also, they don’t have a case filled with donuts that were made an hour or two before.

They are made to order, which requires customers to wait unless they call in their orders or use their loyalty app to order in advance.

It has gained a lot of fans. The Chandler franchise just celebrated its 2-year anniversary with a party and about 200 people showed up.

Bruno opened at Arizona Avenue and Ocotillo in late January of 2020, also known as the time before COVID-19 shut down the world. He had a new franchise most people had not heard of before and large chunks of the population afraid to

seeDUCK page 30

Chandler woman gives birth to her retail dream

BY PAUL MARYNIAK

Arizonan Executive Editor

Erin Dragoo made it out of school before COVID-19 hit.

With a degree from Arizona State University’s Cronkite School of Journalism, the Chandler woman had her sights set on a career in web design and social media studies.

But she also helped out at her mother-in-law’s 4-year-old Ocotillo boutique called Judy Wear.

That experience gave her the retailer bug – and that itch blossomed last week into the grand opening of her own store, Lunch Money at 2430 S. Gilbert Road, Chandler. The store reflects a certain nostalgia that Dragoo has to the 1990s. Though born in 1990, she explained, “Fanny packs, baby tees, butterfly clips, oversized scrunchies, chokers, printed legthree months of heavy research and online shopping.”

“It’s carefully selected to ensure that everything goes together, that everything is fun, that nothing is basic or ordinary,” Dragoo explained, stating that she also looks for handmade items to sell because “they make the most unique gifts for both the people we love and ourselves.”

So, Lunch Money brims with a variety of handmade wares: clay and resin earrings and hair clips, concrete phone holders, photo holders and soap dishes, hand-mixed confetti packets, candles, hand-painted blankets, sage bundles and incense burners, resin bottle openers and wine glass holders, dried flower arrangements, wood flowers and wall hangings, paper machè bowls and animal head wall hangings “and some really

Erin Dragoo last week cut the ribbon at the grand opening of her new Chandler store, called Lunch Money.

(David Minton/Arizonan Staff Photographer)

cool art prints.”

“I will say that I’m very picky,” Dragoo said. “I’ve had a few artists approach me about carrying their product and I’ve turned them down because it doesn’t go with the Lunch Money vibe. Of course, I also carry bigger brands like ban.do and Erin Condren because I have always loved their products, and I never dreamed that I would be able to sell them.”

There are also tarot cards, funny greeting cards, planners and “so many cute gift items.” Dragoo’s playful approach – reflected even in her grand opening last week, when she cut a ribbon with giant pink scissors – also extends to the way she decorated Lunch Money: wild blackand-white floor tile, bright green walls and a flower wall for selfies.

A Tucson native who has lived in Chandler for more than 10 years, Dragoo makes no secret of how working in Judy Wear at 950 E. Riggs Road for more than three years only deepened her desire to run her own shop.

“I began by helping her build her logo and brand identity,” she recalled. “Then I created her website and became her social media girl, posting every day for three years. But somewhere in there, I decided that I wanted to be a bigger part of her shop, so I also became the jewelry buyer. And I found that I loved doing that, more than I loved building websites and creating social media content. “I loved creating the displays and finding different ways to show off our product. I would find myself going to Judy Wear Boutique after hours just to change everything up. It was my play time, my happy place.” After working there so long, she said, “I was just starting to feel a little unfulfilled.” “I wanted something that resembled me, something all my own. My close friend, Alisa Moreno, sent me the Instagram page for a tiny little shop in San Diego called Simon Limon, owned by Alexandra Scarlett Perez Demma, and I just fell in love. I was inspired. I wanted my own Simon Limon. So I just decided to go for it.”

As for the store’s name, that also is somewhat nostalgic for Dragoo.

“When I was in high school, my mom would give me $20 at the beginning of each week for lunch and expect that it would last until Friday,” she explained. “I never did use that money to buy lunch. Instead, I would take it to the mall and spend it on little knick knacks and clothes. That brought me so much more joy than eating lunch ever did. So, my store sells everything that I would want to spend my lunch money on. It’s a compilation of everything that I love.”

Now that she has opened, Dragoo has an interesting take on competition.

“I’m not nervous about competing with the big chain stores,” she said. “I love the big chain stores. I think that just being a small business is a competitive edge in itself. I have found that more people want to support local businesses than chain stores as long as they provide the right product and excellent customer service. And I know that I have both of those going for me. “I’m also confident in the uniqueness of my products, like the handmade earrings and other goodies — you won’t see that at Target or any of the department stores. Also, Lunch Money is an experience. It’s almost sensory overload. It’s an absolute joy to come into my store; it’s more than just shopping. …Everything is bright and fun. Customers will always see me when they walk in and we’ll get to know each other, making it a much more intimate shopping experience.”

Information: lunchmoneyaz.com, 480622-4220.

Erin Dragoo decorated and styocked her new store, called Lunch Money, in an eclectic way that to some degree refl ects her nostalgia for the 1990s. (David Minton/Arizonan Staff Photographer)

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eat out because of the pandemic.

It wasn’t the best time to start a new business but the Arizona State University grad found a way to thrive.

“We had to come up with some ideas, and I did,” Bruno said. “I visited all the neighborhoods within like five to 15 miles from here, … making friends with all the HOAs.”

Bruno partnered with a coffee business and would bring their products to each HOA meeting to sell. That helped him grow his brand and business.

“Doing that, and individually packing donuts, that’s what saved us,” Bruno said. “Literally.”

Bruno said patrons will notice a totally different experience at his store than traditional donut shops.

“From the moment you walk in, we have our kitchen up front, our fryers are up front, all our batter-making is up front,” Bruno said.” We only have one style donuts, that’s it, the vanilla cake donut. Then we just change out all the different coatings, the toppings, the drizzles. And you can pick from all the different various assortments we make.”

He also offers seasonal menus. For example, he will be selling Valentines Day donuts. And since each donut is made to order, a customer can build their own.

“Knowing it’s being made right in front of you, is the coolest thing ever,” Bruno said. “That’s totally what attracted me into the brand itself.”

He’s such a believer that as more Arizonans learn about Duck Donuts and become fans, he is preparing to open a second location by the end of this year, this one in Queen Creek.

Bruno’s children are now 5 and 3. He said being a donut dad makes him one of the coolest fathers ever.

“I’m behind the pizza guy and the police officer at school, but I’m in the top five.”

Information: 4040 S. Arizona Ave., Chandler; duckdonuts.olo.com; 480-350-7763

Fynes Audiology offers hearing issues help

BY ALISON STANTON Arizonan Contributor

People who are dealing with a hearing loss are sometimes reluctant to get a hearing aid, because they envision the large and uncomfortable devices their grandparents used to wear.

As Dr. Cassandra Fynes, owner of the fullservice audiology clinic Fynes Audiology noted, hearing aids have come a long way.

“Today’s technology is getting smaller all of the time and more discreet,” she said, adding that current hearing devices also include rechargeable batteries, which eliminates the need to buy and fumble with small batteries.

Most modern-day hearing aids can also connect to Bluetooth, Fynes said, and many offer streaming from other devices; this means people can listen to television, music, audiobooks and telephone calls with greater ease.

In addition, hearing aids now often come with an app, which allows the wearer to easily make small adjustments to the device. “Hearing aids are definitely not just for old people,” Fynes said.

In addition to featuring a number of hearing aid options for their clients, Fynes and audiologist Roger Knighton conduct comprehensive hearing diagnostic tests for hearing loss and tinnitus, and they also offer custom earplugs and earbuds.

“We work with our clients to help them decide which options are best for them,” she said.

Fynes opened Fynes Audiology in Mesa 18 years ago. Since then, she has helped countless clients regain the confidence and security that comes with being able to hear well.

“We are small and locally-owned and are not a chain, and we are not owned by a manufacturer of hearing aids,” Fynes said.

“We do what is best for our clients, and because we are small we can offer a more personal experience.”

Fynes said she and Knighton enjoy getting to know their clients, and will spend time chatting about their families in addition to their hearing issues.

“We know who is having grandchildren, and who has kids who are graduating, and who has a special birthday coming up,” Fynes said, adding that she and Knighton have been delighted by the steady increase in both patient and professional referrals.

Fynes Audiology is located at 2058 S. Dobson Road, Mesa. Information: 480456-0176 or fynesaudiology.com.

Common purpose drew 4 alumni to same Gilbert firm

ARIZONAN NEWS STAFF

They attended the University of Wisconsin at different times, but have ended up working at the same Gilbert company, drawn by its commitment to reduce – if not eliminate –the use of single-use plastic packaging.

And now, Jorgen Hamann, Brandon Moore, Collin Euteneuer and Roder Connell have embraced the ecological mission of Footprint, a molded fiber company occupying a 135,000-square-foot building near Baseline Road and Hobson Street that develops and manufactures eco-friendly packaging.

Headquartered in Gilbert, Footprint said its products have already led to a global redirection of 61 million pounds of plastic waste from entering the air, earth, and water working with leading global consumer brands like Walmart and Conagra.

Roder Connell Jorgen Hamann Brandon Moore Collin Euteneuer

The four University of Wisconsin grads all went to its Stout campus, where close to 10,000 students are enrolled in what has been called that state’s polytechnic university. Hamann (Class of 2018) is a packaging engineer who lives in Tempe; Moore (Class of 1996) is vice president of design and lives in Mesa; Euteneuer (Class of 2015) is sales director and lives in Chandler; and Connell (Class of 2019), a Gilbert resident, is a platform engineer. All four men reflect a commitment to Footprint’s determination to reduce the disastrous impact plastic has had on human and environmental health.

“Together, these UW-Stout alumni are fighting it head on by designing, engineering, and manufacturing plant-based fiber containers, bowls and trays that replace short-term use plastic,” a company spokeswoman said. Connell, who defines and manages the development path for new product launches, said he decided to major in plastics because “there will always be a need for packaging.

“Every physical item you buy comes in a package. There is an abundance of career opportunities for packaging majors.”

But as Hamann noted, Footprint also offered an opportunity to do more than make a living.

“Our mutual interest in living somewhere new and helping save the planet is likely what brought us together,” Hamann said.

And they share a common goal, he added: “To continue taking steps to improve the planet we all live on and make it a better place for the next generations.”