CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- It turns out that donuts are pandemic proof.
Joe Donut has two locations in the northern suburbs. It started out as an overnight project for the owners of North Branch restaurant in Glenview. A pastry chef and a crew of bakers would take over the North Branch kitchen at night, baking donuts for a small shop near the Glenview Metra Station.
"We thought it would be a great idea to build that downtown traffic in downtown Glenview," said Joe Donut and North Branch partner Nick Phillipas.
The Joe Donut location in a tiny former Post Office on Lehigh Avenue in Glenview was so popular that a second location opened in Niles last year. A takeout location will open in the Old Orchard Shopping center in August. Phillipas said the pandemic delayed the opening from early spring.
Joe Donut has been able to weather the COVID pandemic thanks to a brisk takeout business.
"We've done thousands of donuts over this COVID experience to the hospital, fire departments. All anonymous," Phillipas said.
