Old Town, Portland: Voodoo Doughnut

 We got doughnuts!

You have all seen the classic pink box.

I like the rotating case. The doughnuts within really do look delicious. The mugs with a hole going through them are clever, though I am guessing they don't hold very much of your beverage of choice.

I would say that it is weird that it is so popular and so hated, but that's kind of normal.

It started as a late hours place where you could get weird doughnuts with cereal and Nyquil (the cereal doughnuts are still there), get married, or learn Swahili. It fit in well with the ethos of keeping Portland weird, and with all of the music venues in the area, the odds of people wanting a late-night snack were pretty good.

Now you can go in the day, and they take cards (it used to be cash only), and they brought in a guy with restaurant experience as CEO. I think some of the criticism comes from the hype and then the expansion that the hype enabled. Just because something started as a business venture, intended to make money, does not mean that people will not see success as a sign of selling out.

Some of the doughnuts are still pretty unique, but it is more to the point that they are also pretty good. Would we go downtown (or to one of the other eight locations) specifically for doughnuts? No, we have Doughnut Day nearby. But if we are in the area, sure, we will get doughnuts there. And, as a part of Portland's history, we would make a point of going there when in the area.

You can still get married there, but I don't think they still give Swahili lessons. Too many people have switched to Duolingo. Staff no longer rushes you -- they were really nice -- but I am not sure if that is a pandemic thing or permanent.

https://www.voodoodoughnut.com/