Owner Phanna Meng waits on customers at Elite Donut in the Cypress Village Shopping Center in Sun City Center. Lisa Stark photos.
There’s a heavenly scent in the air when you walk into the Elite Donut Shop in Cypress Village Shopping Center in Sun City Center, owned by local resident Phanna Meng.
“Doughnuts have been in my family for 30 years,” said Meng, “and I’ve kept the same recipe ever since I opened. My customers expect it.”
Even though Elite Donut regularly fills large orders “sometimes 20 or 30 dozen” for churches, schools, hospitals and corporate clients, Meng insists on using fresh dough that is baked on site every day.
“My customers expect my doughnuts to be fresh every day, and they always are,” she said. Meng distinguishes her baked goods from those of other, larger bakeries, supermarkets and donut chains, which, she said, use “frozen dough that they bring in from warehouses” to keep up with large-order demand.
Meng, who comes from a long line of bakers, said her dream was always to own a small doughnut shop, even while raising her children and working full time as an assembly line worker for a factory in her home state of Washington. Now a 60-something grandmother, Meng credits her success to her upbringing in the business, which she learned from her parents, aunts and uncles, some of whom still own doughnut shops in the East Coast towns of Florida.
Three years ago, Meng saw her lifelong dream fulfilled when she moved to Florida and opened Elite Donut, to the gastronomical delight of local residents.
With 40 varieties of doughnuts, muffins and doughnut holes, Elite Donut offers something for everyone. Selections include twists, bow-ties, tiger-tails, apple fritters, cinnamon rolls, and éclairs.
“I’m addicted to this place” said Trisha Espinoza. “The doughnuts are melt-in-your-mouth, nothing like the ones from those big chain stores. The chocolate éclairs are delicious.”
Elite Donut appears to have a steady flow of customers, from early-morning breakfast patrons to lunch customers to after-school students craving a smoothie or ice cream cone. With 40 different types of doughnuts, muffins and doughnut holes, Meng said many of her “regulars” are lined up at the door at 6 a.m. to get their favorite morning fix. People, she said, can be creatures of habit. “I have one man who comes in every day and orders the same thing: a sour cream donut and coffee. He never changes, and never misses a day.”
In addition to its doughnuts, the shop also serves a wide selection of hot and cold sandwiches, subs, croissants, bagels, tropical smoothies, coffee drinks and 12 flavors of hand-dipped ice cream.
Elite Donut is at 3824 Sun City Center Blvd. and is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Catering and delivery service are also available. For more information, visit their website at www.suncitydonuts.com or call 813-633-2233.
