Retail Roundup: Duck Donuts to add second location for made-to-order treats
Veronica and Anthony Bencivenga, owners of Duck Donuts franchise in Hauppauge, seen on May 11, are planning to open another location in Selden in the fall. Credit: Danielle Silverman
It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.
When I decided to write about the owners of the only Duck Donuts franchise on Long Island — and in New York State — planning to open their second location in the area, I visited their Hauppauge store on a recent Saturday for “research purposes.”
Business was bustling on that sunny, chilly morning as customers watched their made-to-order doughnuts being created from start to finish and served warm. At the shop, employees fry the doughnuts and add toppings, such as cinnamon sugar, shredded coconut, crumbled graham cracker, chopped bacon and salted caramel. Seven glaze flavors include chocolate, vanilla, maple and lemon. The shop also sells doughnut sandwiches and coffee.
“We usually say we’re like the Five Guys or Chipotle of doughnuts … because we make them fresh right in front of you for every order,” said Veronica Bencivenga, who co-owns the franchise with her husband, Anthony.
The Nesconset couple opened the Hauppauge franchise in May 2018. Based on the success of that shop, they are planning to open another location in College Plaza on Middle Country Road in Selden this fall, said Veronica Bencivenga, 49.
“We’ve been busy doing a lot of catering, and people have given us a lot of referrals, which I think is very nice. … People come by, they support us, they frequent the store,” she said.
On my recent visit, customer Keane Nelson, 40, nibbled on an egg and cheese sandwich on a doughnut, topped with maple syrup drizzle and bacon crumbles. Yes, you read that correctly.
Chloe Bronzino, 3, of Smithtown, takes a bite of her made-to-order Duck Donut at the franchise in Hauppauge on May 11. Credit: Danielle Silverman
“If you get it, it’s going to change your life,” said Nelson, a Central Islip resident.
Renovation plans for the new Selden shop, which will be in a leased, 1,650-square-foot former Hallmark store, are still awaiting Brookhaven town approval, said Kristen Moore, spokeswoman for Brixmor Property Group, the Manhattan-based owner of College Plaza.
The Bencivengas employ five full-time and 31 part-time workers at their Hauppauge store, at 586 Veterans Hwy.
The first Duck Donuts was opened in the town of Duck, North Carolina, in the Outer Banks, by Russ DiGilio of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. That was in 2007, and he began selling franchises in 2013.
Jojo Jasmin, 13, of East Meadow, takes a bite of her made-to-order Duck Donut at the franchise in Hauppauge on May 11. Credit: Danielle Silverman
The Mechanicsburg-based chain has 79 locations in the United States and one in Chile, said Kristin Kellum, spokeswoman for Duck Donuts Franchising Co. There are 145 locations in development, she said.
Except for a corporate store in Mechanicsburg, all the shops are franchises.
Veronica Bencivenga spent 25 years in the health-care consulting industry before leaving in 2017 to focus on opening the Duck Donuts franchise. Anthony Bencivenga, 49, still maintains his full-time job as head of investor relations for a Plainview manufacturer of semiconductor process equipment.
The Bencivengas, parents of three children ages 13, 14 and 16, ventured into food entrepreneurship partly for familial reasons, Veronica Bencivenga said.
“It was to be able to spend more time with our family and to be able to be more involved in our community,” she said.
Employee Juliana Mallano, 18, makes donuts to order for customers at Duck Donuts franchise in Hauppauge on May 11. Credit: Danielle Silverman
The Bencivengas’ biggest business challenge has been managing the cash flow in the early stages, she said.
“But we know that just to get back to where we were financially [when she was working], we would have to open at least three stores,” she said. Farmingdale likely will be where their third shop opens in 2020, she said.
She declined to disclose the annual sales.
Retail Roundup is a column about major retail news on Long Island — store openings, closings, expansions, acquisitions, etc. — that is published online and in the Monday paper. To read more of these columns, click here. If you have news to share, please send an email to Newsday reporter Tory N. Parrish at tory.parrish@newsday.com.
Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.
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