OH Donut Co. to Take Over One Hot Cookie Space Downtown

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – OH Donut Co. will open a second location this spring, taking over the Erie Terminal Building space where its parent company got its start nearly eight years ago.

Bergen Giordani and her daughter, Morgen Chretien, who founded One Hot Cookie in 2013, piloted their specialty donut concept in August 2018 at their Boardman store. Following a successful trial run, they opened their first fullfledged OH Donut Co. in a shared space with Spruce Home Décor & Gift Shop, adjacent to One Hot Cookie’s Boardman store. 

Exactly when the new store will open remains undetermined, Giordani says. 

“We’re actively watching the COVID situation and gauging when the business community is going to return downtown,” as well as Youngstown State University students’ comfort level for going off campus, she said. “In 2021, most things are kind of TBD.” 

The decision to open a second Oh Donut Co. downtown, in the space where One Hot Cookie debuted in April 2013, spun out of discussions about ways to expand, she said. 

“Morgen and I have a love for the downtown and a strong belief in promoting downtown and being a part of that community,” Giordani said, adding that Oh Donut has seen its delivery business grow and the downtown would provide a central location for the Mahoning Valley. 

“It’s a great move,” Chretien said. “Downtown went through a sad phase during COVID. We’re excited for the revival of downtown and to be a part of that. With the Phelps Street renovation, we think it’s going to be a great fit.”    

The 600-square-foot space in Erie Terminal has been closed since March 15 with the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Giordani and Chretien planned to reopen this summer, but the North Phelps Street construction project prevented that, Giordani said. 

“There will definitely be some work” to adapt the downtown space for OH Donuts, Chretien said. Plans include adding a display case and giving the space a “new and modern” look” and a “fresh face to tie in with the Phelps remodel,” she said.   

Opening downtown provides OH Donuts to offer its products in an underserved market, with the closing of Plaza Donuts, which recently closed after decades on Belmont Avenue and which for several years operated in the Western Reserve Transit Authority’s downtown terminal.    

OH Donuts also offers soups and quick-serve sandwiches that will be attractive to the downtown market, Giordani said.  

“That’s going to be great for the offices downtown,” Chretien said. “We’re excited to see the foot traffic.”  

The changeover doesn’t mean that cookies won’t be an option for downtown, thanks to One Hot Cookie’s mobile unit, Giordani said. 

“It gives us a little bit more flexibility,” she said. “Downtown has not seen the last of One Hot Cookie.” 

Pictured: Oh Donut Co. owners Bergen Giordani and Morgen Chretien in the company’s Boardman restaurant. Soon, Oh Donut will take over the space currently occupied by One Hot Cookie, the mother-daughter team’s first business.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.