Donut Station in Capitola has been serving locally renowned donuts since 1986. Owner Visal Cheng’s father originally founded the popular spot after working at another donut shop in town but wanted to own his own place. He has since retired, and now Visal runs the show. She says that beyond the donuts, they pride themselves on great customer service and serve eight different kinds of locally sourced strong coffee. They are open seven days a week from 6am until whenever they sell out, which Visal says is usually around 2pm or earlier. She spoke to GT about what sets their donuts apart, and some of the most popular choices.
What makes your donuts so popular?
VISAL CHENG: I think it’s our baker and how he puts so much passion into his work, and he also uses good ingredients and good flours. The donuts are also very fresh, the process takes about five or six hours, so we start them the night before so they’re ready every morning. And we change our oil very often which is the key to a good quality donut, it really makes all the difference and you can taste when the oil is fresh. Our donuts are made with a 33-year-old recipe and we’ve been doing them the same way the whole time.
What are some of your best donuts?
The raised donuts are one of our most popular. The options are maple-glazed, chocolate, sugar, and crumb. It’s a very classic and bready donut. Our cruller donuts are very popular too, people come in here often for them and say they can’t find them anywhere else. The dough is more expensive and the cooking process is more complex, and they’re very soft and airy. Our apple fritters are also a hit, we cube cut apples and put them right into the dough. The apples aren’t mushy, you can see them and enjoy the taste and texture. Another one people really like is our cinnamon rolls, it’s the same dough as the raised except we add cinnamon. My personal favorite is our whole wheat donut with blueberry frosting. It’s a whole wheat flour with blueberries added to the batter. It’s very moist and it’s a totally different flavor and is very soft and yummy.
715 Capitola Ave. Suite A, Capitola, 831-462-2898; donutstation.webs.com.
