A new store in NoMad puts a South Korean spin on a classic American donut shop.
Bear Donut recently opened for business in Manhattan’s NoMad neighborhood. The brand is led by Suhum Jang, Owner of the Michelin-recognized modern Asian restaurant Hortus NYC and Marketing Director Honey Kim founder of ARTIPS, a beauty brand currently stocked at such stores as Anthropologie and Free People.
At Bear Donut, the donuts are baked twice daily with fresh batches coming out at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The menu features three varieties of signature donuts developed by Jang himself: Bear Donuts, Cream Puff Donuts and Glazed Donuts.
The Bear Donuts are chewy and crispy donuts made with sweet rice flour in a bubble-ring shape dressed with powdered or glazed toppings like Powdered Sugar or Cheddar and Lavender or Pink Chocolate Glaze, while the Cream Puff Donuts are perfectly round and double the height of the other donut varieties filled with such options as Double Milk Tea and Matcha Custard and topped with powdered sugar, or the Dirty Choco filled with Nutella and glazed with semi-sweet chocolate. The glazed donuts are that classic ring shape we all know and love, but made with sweet rice flour in flavors ranging from Classic glaze to a sour Grapefruit Poppy.
The Bear Donut shop also serves house-made soft serve ice cream in milk and Thai Iced Tea flavors. The menu also features two specialty drinks, Bear Draft Milk and Draft Oat Milk, in flavors such as Cheddar Cheese, Black Sesame, and Lavender, all developed by Jang. Guests can also try coffee from La Colombe in the forms of fresh brew, cold brew, draft latte, and Bear Donut Coffee, a coffee float made of iced or hot coffee with milk soft serve.
The store itself features a clean retro feel with high ceilings and large windows, a white marble counter features a window to showcase the fresh donuts. Across from the counter is a huge mural of the Bear Donut logo (designed by South Korean graphic designer Jo In Hyuk) painted by EunHea Kim. There are also branded shirts, hats, and coffee mugs designed by the Bear Donut team.
Bear Donut is located at 40 W 31st Street and is open Tuesday-Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit beardonut.com or follow @beardonutinc on Instagram.
