Mint Hill Roasting Company is proud to bring a new product to Mint Hill: Uncle D’s Southern Donuts.

“They are not your typical donut,” says baker DeMaurio Page, better known as Uncle D.  “They are baked, so they are slightly more healthy and they have a better density. The texture is almost like a cake, so they last a little longer, have a little more flavor.”

Uncle D graduated from North Carolina A&T with a degree in construction management, but when he returned to Charlotte, he began to think about taking his career in a different direction.  “When I came, back I noticed a market of craft beers, coffee and different speciality food shops, and cooking has always been kind of a passion of mine,” says Uncle D, who learned from his grandmother at an early age, took culinary classes in high school, and worked as a short order cook.  “It’s something I loved doing before I left, so it has always stuck with me.”

After studying the competition, Uncle D decided he had something new and different to add to the donut market.  His unique recipe, the result of a lot of trial and error and experimentation, is a traditional recipe with a twist, a cross between a bundt cake and a donut.

Uncle D and his wife Vivian (Auntie V) opened their home-based business and started selling to the public in February of last year.  Since then, they have sold their donuts at several local festivals, and they also deliver.

It was at Charlotte Fashion Week that Uncle D and Auntie V met up with the owners of Mint Hill Roasting Company.  “They were providing donuts there,” says owner Annette Dance. “That’s where we met them, and we thought, gosh, this is a match made in heaven.  Coffee and donuts: how could it get any better?”

Dance was right.  Since they began carrying Uncle D’s Donuts at the beginning of October, they’ve run out three times!  “We’ve had an amazing demand for them,” says Dance. “We’re trying to get in a better cadence of figuring out how often we need them to bring them.”

On Saturday, October 20, Uncle D and Auntie V visited Mint Hill Roasting Company with free samples of their unique donuts.  Customers had the opportunity to sample locally-inspired flavors like Sarah’s 7up Pound Cake (a lemon-lime cake with lemon icing), Carolina Sunrise (a vanilla almond cake with vanilla cream icing), Southern Red Velvet, Carolina Mudcake and their current seasonal variety, Pumpkin Patch.

You can find Uncle D’s Donuts locally at Mint Hill Roasting Company or order from them on instagram (uncle_d_southern_donuts).  Learn more about Uncle D’s at https://www.uncledsdonuts.com/.