The Flour Box | Handmade Donuts + Baked Goods in Seattle

Story

BACKGROUND:

Hi! I’m Pamela Vuong, self-taught baker and owner of The Flour Box in Seattle, WA. I make handmade filled brioche donuts from scratch and have been popping up around the city for the last 2 years.

These past couple of years have been an unbelievable journey, with consistent hour-long lines, near instant sell-outs, and increasingly high demand. I’ve had wonderful opportunities to collaborate with local businesses such as Pike Brewing, Heritage Distilling, Anchorhead Coffee, Mr. West Cafe Bar, Sawyer Seattle, and many more. Seattle Magazine also graciously named The Flour Box as “Best Donuts in Seattle — Editors’ Pick” in September 2018.

Creme Brulee and savory Everything Bagel donuts (pictured above) have been huge hits at past pop-ups! Seasonal flavors are also popular.

As a one-woman operation, it’s time to move on to bigger things and set up a permanent home (with a real team!).

I owe it all to the amazing community that has built itself around The Flour Box. The outpouring of support thus far has been surreal, and anticipation for a storefront is high as ever. I owe it to all of you to make this bakery dream come to life. It is overwhelming and scary, it’s a lot to take on, and I never thought I’d be trying to open a bakery at 23 – but here we are.

Lines at pop-up events typically flow down the block and beyond, with guests arriving up to two hours early for donuts! The support for The Flour Box these past 2 years has been unreal.

THE PLAN:

The Flour Box Bakery will be located in Hillman City, a small and diverse neighborhood in the very south end of Seattle – I grew up around here. It’s an area that I think would greatly benefit from some donuts (finally!). The building was formerly a casual Peruvian chicken restaurant, and before that, it was a well loved family-owned service station for decades. Today, it’s still owned by the same family, and I’m so proud to be opening in such a neighborhood landmark.

A glimpse of the space! The blue and yellow will be gone, but the garage doors will stay as a nod to its former life as a neighborhood auto repair shop.

As you can imagine, it’ll take quite a bit of work to transform the space into a cozy bakery. The great news is, there’s an amazing enclosed patio for dining, plenty of pet-friendly outdoor seating, and even a parking lot – a rarity in Seattle! It’ll be the perfect place for gatherings, little celebrations, breakfast dates, and coffee stops for everyone in the neighborhood to share.

Everybody knows The Flour Box for the donuts (above!), but there is so much more in store…

The Flour Box Bakery will be a physical manifestation of my passion for baking. With that said, it’ll be full of all my favorite things. In addition to filled donuts, you can expect to see delicious “standards” like cinnamon rolls, salted chocolate chunk cookies, and banana bread… but also things like: kaya toast, coconut rice pudding, taro pie, pavlova, and fried-to-order beignets! I’m very much inspired by travels and childhood memories, and I hope that these unique flavors will resonate with many of you as well.

Hot cinnamon rolls, fresh beignets, and the best sea salted chocolate chunk cookies.

Gluten- and dairy-free items will always be available, along with a few savory options too. Rotating cakes/pastries will change with the seasons (or whenever the mood strikes!). All of it will be perfectly accompanied by espresso made with local Seattle roaster Anchorhead Coffee’s beans. Quality is a priority, so everything will always be thoughtfully made in small batches and from scratch, never with any artificial flavors or preservatives.

There will be something for everyone at The Flour Box, and everyone is most certainly welcome.

THE BREAKDOWN:

Kickstarter funds will be spent on…

Equipment: espresso machine, grinders, coffee brewer, filtration system, keg, refrigerated display case, under counter refrigeration, compact dough sheeter, dough divider, panini press, (a much larger) donut fryer, proofer, register…
Renovations: service counter buildout, new (indoor!) seating area, electrical work for all equipment/lighting, enclosed patio improvements (fixing broken panels and leaks), security system updates, minor restroom upgrades, paint, fixtures, new signage
All furniture (tables + chairs) and lighting
Labor + materials

If the goal of $85,000 is surpassed (in which case, thank you all so much!), the extra funds will go toward inventory and a start on rent/utilities.

This little fryer has held up through dozens of pop-up events and countless parties/birthdays/weddings, frying just 12 donuts at a time. A bigger fryer will be able to fry nearly three times as many in the same amount of time, which will definitely come in handy for the new shop.

Every single donut is cut and weighed on a scale, then rolled by hand. Having a manual dough divider would be able to evenly divide up to 30 pieces of dough at once, which would save hours of measuring. All donuts will still be rolled, fried, coated, and filled by hand.

I know $85,000 is a lot of money. Starting a business is expensive, and just securing this brick-and-mortar location cost much more than the Kickstarter goal itself. I’ve put practically my entire life’s savings into this, and with help from my family, I now have the opportunity to open here. This last push, with your help, will build a real home for The Flour Box, to share with the entire community. It’d be a dream come true, and I’m so excited for this.

Thank you for supporting The Flour Box.

Don’t miss the fun!