ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Melissa Selvon-Cornelisse, the owner of Dandee Donut Factory on Pleasant Street in Marblehead, puts together an order of donuts.
BY GAYLA CAWLEY
MARBLEHEAD — The Dandee Donut Factory, which initially began in Florida, opened its second location in Marblehead in November 2015, and has filled a void in the community.
Melissa Selvon-Cornelisse, manager of The Dandee Donut Factory, which is located at 123 Pleasant St., said a Greek couple initially came up with the donut concept. The first Dandee Donut Factory was opened in Florida and was a business that quickly took off.
Eventually, according to Selvon-Cornelisse, the couple sold the business to partners and current owners, David Zion and David Groom. The partners opened up a second Dandee Donut Factory in Marblehead on Nov. 20, 2015, with three soft openings on that initial opening date and the two days after. A third location was also recently opened in Florida.
Selvon-Cornelisse said the partners own the entire Warwick Place building, which also boasts a movie theater and Palmers Restaurant. Prior to Dandee taking its place, wedged in between the movie theater and Palmers, Selvon-Cornelisse said there was Warwick Cafe in the same spot. She said she also worked at the cafe, which “wasn’t doing much,” and then moved onto Dandee with the transition.
Selvon-Cornelisse said Dandee is a “market missing in Marblehead, right now.” She said the shop is a breakfast place and the only other donut place in the area is Dunkin’ Donuts. She said the concept is simple.
“It’s what a donut should be,” Selvon-Cornelisse said. “[The donuts are] baked fresh every day.”
She said one of the more popular donuts is appropriately named the Dandee donut, which is a raised, glazed donut, rolled in a cake donut.
“It’s the best of both worlds,” Selvon-Cornelisse said.
There are 70 varieties of donuts at the shop. In addition, a full-service breakfast is served from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a full-service lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eggs are made to order and the shop just revamped its lunch menu. The store hours are from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The shop has about 30 employees. Selvon-Cornelisse said the donut chefs arrive between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., finishing up at 8 a.m. She said the chefs in the kitchen make meals, from scratch, every day. Other employees include counter staff and servers.
There is also a full service at tables. She said there is a balance between people who dine in and those who like to sit on their computers for several hours, while enjoying a pastry and coffee. The dining room seats 41 to 50 people and another room behind the counter seats about 40. She said that room, off Palmers, functions as part of the restaurant at night. On the weekends, she said there could be a wait on tables.
With the restaurant, movie theater and donut shop all located in the same building, Selvon-Cornelisse said patrons can enjoy an all-day experience. She said they can have breakfast, socialize, have lunch, see a movie at the theater and finish the day with a cocktail at the bar.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.
