Donut Land announces move to bigger location after 54 years in business

BRUNSWICK — Donut Land intends to keep the heart of its mom-and-pop doughnut shop while relocating to a larger location in Brunswick later this year. Owner Amanda Rienerth said Donut Land was started by her grandfather, "Mr. Bill", in 1972. The building at 1321 Pearl Road was originally about half its current size and was doubled after about five years of business. "People told him don't open a doughnut shop in Brunswick back then because he wasn't going to make it," she said. "We've been in business for 54 years." Rienerth came back to the family business in 2019. Her grandfather expressed that he would like Donut Land to move out of its current location because a bigger spot was needed, and they considered moving into the Steak 'n Shake building on Center Road. "That was kind of our first idea," she said. "Then he had gotten real sick, so we talked about maybe trying to do something here and expand this building a little more, but it really wasn't feasible." After her grandfather's death in 2021, Rienerth began her journey of looking for a new location. She was keeping her eye on different spots on main roads in Brunswick. "(Brunswick) is our home," she said. "We have such a great community that supports us. I've lived here my whole life, and we just have a great support system with our community." Rienerth first looked at the former Rite Aid building at 3871 Center Road in June 2024. This week, she signed the papers to acquire the 13,000-square-foot property that will soon house Donut Land. "It's definitely been a roller coaster of emotions, but it's going to be amazing," she said. "Construction starts today (Monday), as a matter of fact." The new location will allow Donut Land to produce more, Rienerth said. She intends to bring back some of her grandfather's old recipes that were discontinued over the years because of lack of space. "My staff won't be working on top of each other," she said. "They're most excited to have space to move around. Right now, in our back room, we have to constantly move a rack here to get there, and then move a rack there to get here. It's a lot of back and forth and moving stuff out of the way." Phase one of the project will be getting Donut Land open in the new space, Rienerth said. Donut Land intends to be operating inside the former Rite Aid building by the end of summer. "Phase two, we will open up our party room, which will be available for birthday parties or meetings," she said. "The drive-thru will also be phase two, and everyone's pretty pumped about that as well." Feedback from the community on the relocation has been overwhelmingly positive, Rienerth said. A Facebook post made on Friday announcing the move received 878,000 views as of Monday afternoon, and Donut Land's Facebook page gained 2,000 followers since the post was made. "We were not able to keep doughnuts on our shelves this weekend, and we were pushing them out as fast as we could," she said. "On Saturday, we sold 554 dozen doughnuts, and our average Saturday is normally 375 to 400 dozen. That's not including our fancies in the front showcase. That was just our doughnuts." Rienerth's hope for the future is to continue to get Donut Land's name out there. "I think that's what we've done with this move and by keeping my grandpa's legacy alive," she said. "He had a good product. He knew what he was doing, and we follow his recipes." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.