Owner Dan Prak stands in front of the display case at the Donut Palace on Dayton Boulevard in Red Bank.Map
3716 Dayton Blvd
Name: Donut Palace
Location: 3716 Dayton Blvd., Red Bank
Contact information: 423-877-2290
Products/services: Doughnuts, pastries and croissant sandwiches made fresh every morning. A single glazed doughnut costs 65 cents, a dozen costs $6.50.
Hours: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day
Age: Four months
Breakfast business: Making doughnuts fresh every day isn't easy. Owner Dan Prak gets to his kitchen hours before the sun rises to start on the 70 dozen doughnuts and 35 dozen fritters he'll need for the day. He said the tough hours are worthwhile because his work is what separates Donut Palace from competitors in customers' minds. "Hopefully they like homemade better," he said.
Family recipe: Prak learned to make doughnuts working at his uncle's shop in California. Prak took the lessons he learned there and started a successful donut shop in Mississippi before coming to the area.
Hole in the doughnut market: Donut Palace is the only such shop in the Red Bank area, he said. Since opening, Prak has proven there was an unmet demand for breakfast treats, drawing 80 to 100 customers a day. "So far, so good," he said.
Future goals: Prak hopes to get the business running strongly after about a year. Once everything is humming along, he will start looking to sell the restaurant and start the process over again somewhere else.