Fryborg Serves Homemade Cake Donuts Every Weekend in Trumbull

Andrew Dominick February 06, 2024

*Pistachio cake donuts deserve their close up*

When I visited Fryborg in 2023 for a follow up article on its new Trumbull location and expanded menu, owner Johnathan Gibbons tossed me a tidbit that I teased at the end of that piece about a weekend morning pop up featuring something sweet.

I couldn’t say anything then, but Gibbons’ plan was to add donuts to his repertoire of Belgian-inspired frites, burgers, dogs, cheesesteaks, and all of that nostalgic grub that his menu is all about.

And what’s more nostalgic than a well-made cake donut?

With freshly fried donuts and homemade glazes, Gibbons also knew he’d be doing something different and better than what else is in the Town of Trumbull. Ahem! That means you, Dunkin’ Donuts!

I had to keep mum on the whole donut idea while Gibbons got his ducks—er…donuts in a row.

*Top from L - R: Cinnamon sugar, toasted almond, cookies & cream*
*Bottom from L - R: Vanilla sugar, Yellow Snow (lemon glazed with shredded coconut), pistachio*

Gibbons, knowing what he wanted out of a cake donut, first needed to hire someone to help with R&D and to run the weekend pop up.

“I put out an ad for someone to make donuts, and she responded,” he says. “I didn’t expect to hire a legitimate pastry chef, but here she is.”

“People are starting to come out for this,” Cote says of the weekend pop up. “We had a pop of people around Christmas. Before we increase the number of donuts, we want to make sure we’re ready for it. Right now we can do 300 - 400 per weekend morning without calling in an assist.”

The “she” in question is Christine Cote, a graduate of Johnson & Wales and you might have seen or eaten her sweets in the past at the Westport Farmers Market, Sport Hill Farm, and Gilbertie’s Herbs and Garden Center under the business name, Huckleberry Artisan Pastries.

Cote’s donuts at Fryborg, while they are cake, what they’re not is dense, and how she got them to that consistency is a secret she’s keeping.

“Lots of trial and error and chemistry,” she says. “Jonathan has a particular idea of what he wants to invoke with these, which is nostalgia. They’re fun and playful, and should remind you of childhood. Nothing pretentious. Glazes are scratch made, and we’re doing brightly colored, fun, tasty flavors.”

In late October, Fryborg started out by giving out one cinnamon sugar donut per customer for free before they began selling that classic flavor, plus five more flavors each weekend.

Since then, they’ve fried and glazed, or fried and sugar-coated donuts that have included strawberry shortcake, toasted almond (both like the Good Humor bars in donut form), pumpkin espresso, vanilla sugar, and strawberry glazed with a chocolate drizzle and a chocolate covered strawberry on top.

I bite into one, the cookies & cream. It reminds me of something. Then boom! I think of the served warm, sugary, cookie-coated version at Federal Donuts.

*C’mon. You had to know Fryborg would do breakfast sandwiches, too, right? Bacon, egg, and cheese. Simple. Classic. Always hits the spot.*

*Sausage, egg, and cheese on griddled sourdough*

I say this because I remembered Gibbons’ link to Philadelphia where he lived during his college years at Saint Joseph’s University, and also the city where famed Zahav chef Michael Solomonov opened several Federal Donuts locations.

It’s not quite a copycat version, but it’s certainly an homage.

“I’m not gonna lie and say that that’s not an inspiration,” Gibbons says. “If anyone ever compared us to them, I’d be thrilled about it, but I’m not trying to rip anyone off. No one does here what they do there. I have an idea of what I want this to be like, and it’s similar. I don’t want Michael Solomonov to post that he was in this town in Connecticut and they’re ripping us off! Not that he would care, but I don’t want anyone to think that. Recently we were coming up with flavor ideas. One was tiramisu, then I said, ‘Oh, how about mascarpone and goat cheese!’ But I realized I got a Federal Donuts email and they did mascarpone and fig, so I said, ‘Let’s not do that one.’”

As for what flavors are sticking, Gibbons is certain that the pistachio and cookies & cream are never going away, and he’d like to retool the blueberry donut by making the cake blueberry as well as the icing.

Lock into Fryborg’s Instagram for the weekly donut announcement and remember…they start selling ‘em at 8 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday until the 300 – 400 donuts sell out.

10 Broadway, Trumbull
203.880.9250, fryborg.com