Building community one donut at a time: Donut Trap offers more than sweet treats
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Crumbled cookie crumbs, sprinkled cereal and caked cinnamon. The Donut Trap has been blending creativity with sweetened pastries for years – all while selling their donuts through vending machines across the Twin Cities.
Now, the business has expanded. Bradley and Ashley Taylor, owners of The Donut Trap, have a new retail space in St. Paul where they hope to build a community with their neighbors and people across the Twin Cities who stop in for their sweet treats.
“I think it’s really important to really just get to encourage these spaces where people can really talk and interact with each other, which is really needed right now,” said Taylor.
The shop is easy to spot — just look for the colorful mural on the outside of the building.
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“It sets the tone of when you approach this place,” Taylor said. “It's so cool, and it just came together on a whim. It's pinks and blues — bright. I love it.”
The tone he’s setting is one that welcomes art and collaboration. So, if you have a creative idea, go ahead and approach him — even if your idea is only half-baked. The space features a community garden and a seating area with pink umbrellas. Just a month into opening, they’ve held a Saturday yoga session and plan on hosting a drag show on July 20.
Another quirk of this bakery: It’s open Thursday through Sunday — but only in the afternoons.
The donuts themselves are like art projects with inventive flavor combinations and names as colorful as they are. Would you like a Girl Luv Beyonce? A Thic Judge Judy? Or how about Taylor’s favorite: the Compton A$$ Terry.
“It's a crunchy peanut butter with Oreo cookie crumble and chocolate glaze,” said Taylor. “Oreos and peanut butter, weirdly, go well together.”
The Thotiana, a donut that tastes like a churro Tres Leaches cake, is baked with cinnamon and coconut milk. And Taylor left the eggs out of recipe, so it’s vegan.
If donuts aren’t your thing, the shop also serves cold brew and ice cream. All at a walk-up window.
Taylor said his donut vending machines, which are scattered across the Twin Cities, won’t disappear. They’ll continue to restock each machine as they work to grow a new community in St. Paul through donuts.
“Let's be under the influence of sugar, right?” he said. It’s his way of “bringing a little bit more color to the neighborhood.”
