By Tamas Mondovics
The wait is over for Brandon area residents who have been looking forward to satisfying their cravings for freshly made donuts from one of the most talked about local shops, Hole in One Donuts.
After nearly nine months of renovation, store owners, Sockchea Nam and his wife Monica of Cambodian descent, hosted a grand opening of the new shop located in the Lithia Square Plaza on the northeast corner of Lithia Pinecrest Rd. and Lumsden Ave.
The couple, supported by their son Derek, have worked alongside as well as trained by family members and Hole in One Donuts founders, Than and Larry Pheng, who have opened their first local doughnut shop in 2000 in Plant City.
The long-anticipated early-morning opening of the new 1,800 sq., ft. shop did not disappoint the steady stream of customers. By late morning—as expected—it was slim pickings of the sweet treats thanks to patrons buying up every last bite, leaving the shelves empty, and prompting Sockchea to reconsider upping next day’s donut count.
“We live in Brandon and felt it was a great location to open another store,” Monica said as she reflected on a good opening day business.
Not surprising, the new Brandon store is the sixth in the area including two in Plant City, one in Seffner, Zephyrhills and Tampa.
One of the first to try out the freshly baked goods was Rebecca Lee, who brought her four young boys, Mason, 5, Ryland, 4, Hunter, 3 and Harrison, 1 for a taste test.
“We are a doughnut family,” said Rebecca while assisting Harrison, who was working on finishing a white frosted, sprinkled doughnut. “We are very familiar with Hole In One and could hardly wait for it to open.”
Aside from its wide variety of fresh doughnuts, Hole in One Donuts also serves fresh coffee, breakfast sandwiches with croissants and bagels as well as soft drinks.
Hole In One Donuts opens at 5 a.m. Monday through Saturday. The shop opens at 6 a.m., on Sunday and closes at lunchtime all seven days. A dozen doughnuts start at $8.
For more information about Hole In One, please visit its Facebook page – Hole In One Donuts – Brandon or call 436-0130. It is located at 923 Lithia Pinecrest Rd.
Sokchea and Monica said, “We would like to express our sincerest gratitude and thanks to our kids, family up in New England, our friends and owners of the other Hole In One Donuts shops (Sam & Judy, Rom & Lisa, An & Sareth, Chea & Nancy, Kathy & Mike, Sal & Jeneeda) and Philay & Chris of Thai X-Press for their guidance and unwavering support.
We could not have done this without all of you. To our patrons, we thank you for your
support and we look forward to making and serving you delicious donuts and breakfast sandwiches made fresh daily in our shop that you have come to expect from Hole In One Donuts shops. Please let us know how we are doing and what we can do to improve your experience at our shop.”
