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Michelle Ferraro Tadross’s mantra is simple: “The crazier the better.”
“Create your own is our motto,” she said. “We’re surprised with what people come up with.”
With that in mind, Ferraro Tadross held the grand opening of her new Sundae Donuts in Huntington on Saturday. About 100 people lined up outside waiting for her to swing open the doors.
Once inside, customers of all ages began ordering doughnuts, doughnut-infused ice cream and cookie dough.
The shop is an explosion of color. Staffers dress in tie die, customers pose in front of large doughnut decorum with sprinkles that replicate the shapes and patterns of the shop’s doughnuts, and the display cases are loaded with cream, candy and cereal covered treats.
This new lux bake shop is the third Sundae Donuts location that Ferraro Tadross has opened in a little more than a year. The Huntington spot joins her Montauk and Syosset locations, as well as a franchised shop in Massapequa.
“This is kind of our flagship,” she said of her latest location. “This is where we plan on training our franchisees. And we’re also going to do kids’ birthday parties here. We have mini doughnuts, and kids or adults can decorate the doughnuts with fun toppings.”
‘However crazy they want to go with it’
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ferraro Tadross said she took to baking and decided to open a doughnut shop in Montauk where she and her family enjoy the summer. She said the name ‘Sundae Donuts’ actually preceded the concept that has become her signature customizable product.
“It’s kind of like an assembly line here,” she said of ordering at Sundae Donut. “You start with the doughnut, then you get to the ice cream, and you go to the toppings, and then some people get a scoop of cookie dough. It’s however crazy they want to go with it.”
One of the most popular combinations seems to have its own gravitational pull over children.
“The most popular donut is our galaxy doughnut,” she said. “It’s a pretty pink, purple and blue sanding sugar mix. It’s super attractive and the kids gravitate toward that one. And then we have an ice cream called cookies and blue cream, and obviously they like the colors in it. It’s a purple doughnut with a scoop of blue ice cream, so that’s a really good combo.”
When she decides to indulge, Ferraro Tadross pairs the cannoli bomboloni doughnut, one of Decembers V.I.D.’s (very important donuts) that rotate every month, with Bailey’s Irish Cream.
There are also options for customers looking to stick to the basics. Doughnut lovers can stick to such old school favorites as jelly, glazed and Boston crème — all of which go nicely with a hot beverage at the coffee bar.
In between are the sundae favs. These are the delights already decked out in toppings before customers put their own spin on it. There is the chocolate Oreo, the PB&J and four different cereal coated doughnuts.
More shops on the way
With little more than a year of doughnut shop experience under her belt, Ferraro Tadross is still growing the Sundae Donuts brand.
By next summer, she expects to have her fourth location in Manhasset and franchised shops in East Norwich, Staten Island and New Jersey.
Within the next few weeks, she’ll launch the Sundae Donuts app, where customers can place customizable orders for pickup at any of the brand’s locations and earn rewards.
Most immediately, she will feel out Huntington’s nightlife and look to join the party.
“We have a great location across from the Paramount,” she said. “So we’re hoping to get some of that crowd. As the night progresses, we’ll shut the main lights off and there will be more of a nightclub vibe. We’ll have a DJ tonight and if that goes well and if people enjoy it, we’ll probably have a DJ every Saturday night.”
