Photo via Donut Monster
Donut Monster
Donut Monster, a Whitefish Bay doughnut and breakfast-sandwich shop, opened a second, counter service location in the Third Ward, at 316 N. Milwaukee St. They took over the kiosk space formerly occupied by Holey Moley Coffee and Doughnuts.
Donut Monster is owned by the husband-and-wife team of Jackie and Sara Woods. Jackie is a fine-dining trained chef who had worked at Michelin-starred restaurants in Milwaukee and throughout California. Donut Monster is inspired by a remark made by the couple’s young daughter, who liked books featuring Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster character. She exclaimed one morning while eating doughnuts that she was the “donut monster.”
Customers can choose from an array of rotating doughnut flavors and styles. Filled brioche shell doughnuts include the PB&J, filled with peanut butter buttercream and concord grape glaze made from organic grapes; or Cheesecake, in which the shell is filled with cheesecake and topped with seasonal fruit glaze and a graham cracker crumble. Traditional cake-style ring doughnuts include “The OG” in which sour cream gives the dough a unique taste and texture. The OG is topped with a tangy buttermilk and lemon glaze. The White Chocolate Passionfruit is a ring covered in white chocolate glaze, drizzled with passionfruit glaze.
Salted Chocolate, Lemon Poppy and Maple Bacon flavored doughnuts round out the doughnut menu, along with fritters. Donut Monster also features savory breakfast sandwiches served on house-made English muffins. Cinnamon rolls are available on Sundays. Need coffee to dunk your doughnuts? Donut Monster serves hot and cold brews from Coffee Wizardz single-origin coffee.
Donut Monster avoids artificial colors and flavors and instead opts for organic fruit concentrate for their glazes, so their doughnuts aren’t overpowered by sugary flavor. They make their own dough, fillings and glazes in-house.
Doughnuts Are “In”
We love doughnuts. According to IBISWorld’s 2019 report “Doughnut Stores Industry in the US - Market Research,” the market size of the industry has increased 2% per year from 2015 to 2019 in the United States and was projected to grow approximately 1.2% during 2020.
Artisanal bakers are getting creative with this classic treat, and Milwaukee has welcomed several new doughnut shops in recent years.
From Doughnuts to Pizza
Jackie, along with friend and chef Paris Dreibelbis, plan to open Brute Pizza from the same lobby kiosk as Donut Monster. Their sourdough crust pizzas, made with heritage stone-milled flour, will be available for lunch and dinner. They’ll use ingredients sourced from Wisconsin including the flour and Pleasant Ridge cheese. Until Brute Pizza is up and running at the Third Ward location, they’ll sell parbaked pizzas at the West Allis Farmers Market, which runs through Nov. 27.
Hours at Donut Monster’s Third Ward location are 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The Whitefish Bay location is open Thursdays-Sundasy 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, visit donutmonstermke.com. For more information about Brute Pizza, visit brutemke.com.
