Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Goodman
Hi Joshua, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story, and the story of Heritage Donuts, really can’t be told without my wife. I actually bussed tables at her aunt’s restaurant in Greensboro, NC when I was 16 years old. I met her years later when she started working there. I was in college at the time and she had just moved back to North Carolina after helping with her father’s restaurant in Texas. We served tables and bartended together for a few years where we connected really well. Her drive and passion for entrepreneurship inspired me. As we grew closer, I decided that I wanted to help her achieve her dreams rather chase some of my own. All of her family members owned small restaurants of their own, except one. Her uncle had learned to make donuts with his wife in California. They ran the first bakery in the family and began teaching their siblings over the years. During this time, we decided to leave bartending behind and open our own donut shop. We learned from the family here in NC and moved to a small town in Mississippi where my father-in-law was opening a donut shop. We helped him open his and shortly after, opened our own. While that one was a success, we grew homesick pretty quickly and moved back after about 3 years. We started a family in Greensboro and eventually moved to Wake Forest just before COVID. I was working in Raleigh but my wife always told me, if a spot opened up, we were going to put a donut shop here… and that’s what we did. It was a struggle to get our store open during the tail end of COVID but the reception since has been fantastic.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
To be honest, it’s been a struggle most of the way. Getting the store open during COVID was a nightmare, even more so than opening a business already is. I won’t go into details about our contractors, equipment providers, etc. but there’s a reason that so many small businesses fail. They often have to dig such a big hole for themselves just to open their doors that they never recover. If they do, a lot of those problems persist through the first 3-5 years of a business and we are no exception there. Donut life itself is a bit of a struggle because of the labor and the weird hours. We are very particular about quality control and customer service, so we feel the need to do it all ourselves. We call our store a mom & pop shop because that’s exactly what we are. Every donut made, every topping crushed, every batch of icing or glaze, is all made by my wife and myself. It’s a balance between rewarding and frustrating, as I’m sure most jobs are.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Donuts! We specialize in a variety of yeast raised and cake donuts, made fresh daily. We have classics like glaze, cinnamon sugar, blueberry, and sprinkles. We have filled donuts with jellies and creams. We have specialty toppings like oreo, crumb cake, maple bacon and fruity pebbles. We have apple fritters, cinnamon rolls and old fashioneds. What we are known for, and what we are most proud of is kind of our company motto. It’s what my wife and I have always lived by whether we were serving tables, bartending, or making donuts and that is to work hard and be nice to people. It’s such a simple idea and yet it covers all the bases. As long as we emphasize those two things, everything else falls into place from the great donuts to the great customer service our staff provides.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
We also make some pretty unique (and fun) large birthday number donuts. Yep, that’s right huge donuts in the shape of numbers for your birthday celebration needs!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/heritagedonuts
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/heritagedonuts
