Amazing Glaze is a Pocatello staple with hopes to expand across state

When you think of donut shops in Pocatello, Amazing Glaze immediately comes to mind.

But for the business' owners, they're hoping for a day when their donut shop is as synonymous with Idaho as the state's prized potatoes, the main ingredient coincidentally in every Amazing Glaze donut.

Their expansion to Idaho State University five years ago showed Amazing Glaze co-owners Dean Giesbrecht and wife Katie what the possibilities could be.

The couple bought Amazing Glaze, 215 E. Cedar St., in August 2018 and it has taken off since then as they've turned donuts into something more akin to culinary art.

The Giesbrechts said the first step to their success was coming up with a name for their new business, formerly called Double Shot Donuts.

After some inspiration through song, they decided on Amazing Glaze.

"It was funny," Giesbrecht recalls. "We were trying to figure out the name and with my wife being a singer, we had the song 'Amazing Grace' playing. As she was singing along with it, she was jokingly saying this is Amazing Glaze. We started laughing and then we thought that's an awesome name, so it's a spin-off of the song 'Amazing Grace.'"

Amazing Glaze offers an amazing variety of donuts, coffee drinks and much more. However, all of that is not the most interesting thing about the shop.

Idaho is known for its potatoes and Amazing Glaze uses that to its advantage by putting real Idaho potatoes in its donuts, all of which are made freshly at the store.

"That comes from the previous owner," Giesbrecht said. "We bought the recipe."

The Giesbrechts have definitely succeeded in carrying on the donut shop's potato tradition and taken it to new heights with never-ending donut creativity.

Just check out the shop's daily offerings and you'll realize that the Giesbrechts have a passion for new donut creations that should have landed them on the Food Network by now.

Sure you'll find traditional glazed donuts on the shelf but you probably won't be able to resist the other offerings which can only be described as donut masterpieces — all made with real Idaho potatoes.

According to Giesbrecht, they use 600 pounds of fresh Idaho potatoes every week to make their donuts.

That Gem State touch definitely puts these treats in a class by themself.

With the donut shop growing in popularity at the end of 2019, the Giesbrechts decided to join forces with Idaho State University and place an Amazing Glaze kiosk in the Student Union Building on the Pocatello campus, a decision the business is reaping the rewards of five years later.

"It's been awesome because we get a lot more people (and) students know we're there," Giesbrecht said. "Then we get a lot more exposure to the incoming students from out of state and I believe that it even carries over into the summer. The students that stay here in town know who we are and know that they can come to Cedar Street to get the same coffee and the same donuts that they can up there (at ISU)."

With the successful expansion to ISU, Giesbrecht's ambition has only grown. He now envisions Amazing Glaze as a statewide donut shop, bringing the joy of their unique potato donuts to more people. His plans include expanding from Pocatello to the Treasure Valley, demonstrating his commitment to growth and innovation.

Locally owned businesses are special to the community and Amazing Glaze is definitely special to Pocatello and its residents. The shop strives to provide the best donuts possible in the best atmosphere so customers want to come back again and again.

"I always tell our staff, donuts get (customers) in the door, but it's our service that keeps them coming back," Giesbrecht said. "As good as our donuts are, we pride ourselves on the customer service people receive, even over the amazing donuts. It's always worth coming in if you're having a bad day. Come in and let us make it better."