Top That Donut Bar Review
Top That Donut Bar Owner Justin Blake inside his donut shop located at 2922 North Elm Street in Lumberton. PN Photo/Mahala Treish.
By Mahala Treish, Reporter
Published April 8, 2021
The new donut bar, located right next to Biggs Park Mall in Lumberton, introduces a new fresh environment for enjoying your donuts. When first walking into Top That Donut Bar, customers are greeted with glam decor, floral arrangements and a colorful neon donut sign with the store name below it. The bar sells specialty donuts and specialty coffee, but you can get classics as well. The donut menu features a couple of new and exclusive limited flavors that change weekly.
Top That Donut Bar is owned by Justin Blake, a Lumberton native who was the previous co-owner of Sugar Art Custom Cakes and Sweets. The idea behind the donut bar came from Blake wanting to own a classy drinking bar, but he did not want to deal with the chaos that it could bring. He wanted to switch the food and alcohol you would see in a high-class bar for donuts and coffee while keeping the same aesthetic.
The targeted audience age for the donut bar was 18 to early 30s but has had customers from all age groups. While looking at their Facebook page, unique savory donuts like a Taki donut, Green Eggs and Ham donut and a corn dog donut can be found.
“I wanted something that was truly different, never been seen before, not even just Lumberton, but anywhere,” said Blake.
Top That Donut Bar has held events in the past for networking and holidays. On Valentine’s Day, they hosted a singles night, allowing people to come out and meet others for friendships or relationships. Blake hopes in the future to hold an event for Fathers and Mother’s Day, and maybe for St. Patrick's Day.
The best-selling donut at the bar is the Maple Bacon donut which is a donut topped with crumbled bacon and has maple icing. The Red Velvet donut which is a donut with red velvet crumbles, vanilla icing and vanilla drizzle is a close second best-seller . The number-one selling drinks would be the Sugar Daddy which contains coffee, caramel and hazelnut; and JBs Jackpot Frozen, Blakes' specialty drink which contains white chocolate, pumpkin, caramel and gold glitter.
For purposes of the article, the Oatmeal Creme Pie Cereal Donut, which was a limited-edition donut of the week, and the Sugar Daddy drink were ordered and tasted. The Oatmeal Cream Pie Cereal donut contains vanilla icing, oatmeal cream pie cereal and an oatmeal cream pie. This donut has the perfect amount of cereal to icing to donut ratio. The crunch of the cereal pairs very well with the fluffy donut. The Sugar Daddy drink brings strong flavors and tastes almost exactly to the Sugar Daddy candy. Having both the donut and drink can be very sweet, but expect nothing less from a donut bar. If not a huge sugar fan, then go for a more subtle donut with a specialty drink or vice versa.
Sky Polanco, a student at UNCP has also gone to the bar before where she got the maple bacon donut with the dirty chai drink. Polanco said, “I’m a huge fan of savory and sweet so I had to get the maple bacon donut and I was not disappointed!” Polanco also enjoyed the drink as well but would’ve preferred to not have the drink contain espresso.
If you enjoy a great donut, glam decor, and a flavorful coffee, Top That Donut Bar is the place for you!
Top That Donut Bar strives to set itself apart from their pastry competition, with their decor and their menu. PN Photo/Mahala Treish.
