New Salt Lake doughnut shop tempts with unique flavors, back story

While the colorful exterior may be what draws some consumers inside Other Side Donuts, Tim Stay believes once you taste the doughnuts “your mouth will want you to come back.”

Beyond the uniquely flavored pastries and whimsical interior — cloud- and donut-shaped tables — Stay hopes once consumers learn about the shop's mission, "your heart will want you to come back."

He is the director and co-founder at the Other Side Village, a long-planned neighborhood of tiny homes for formerly chronically homeless Utahns. Other Side Donuts, located at 760 S. Redwood Road, is part of that master-planned community.

While several of the tiny homes have been built and unveiled , they have yet to make their way to the lot on Indiana Avenue. Previous plans anticipated the first of the village's residents moving in by the end of summer 2023. As that deadline has come and gone, the opening of one of the community's planned social enterprises represents a step forward in the master plan.

"We believe that those who have struggled with homelessness need something meaningful to be involved in," Stay said. "Part of our process is helping facilitate employment opportunities and finding jobs where they can find that fulfillment."

Other Side Donuts is one of several social enterprises for the community, with all proceeds going toward the Other Side Village.

Other Side Donuts employs people currently at the live-in prep school program for the village, or graduates of the Other Side Academy, a work-based program for people who have been incarcerated or struggled with addiction.

“Our doughnuts are made by people who, a year ago were on the streets, in encampments, living in transitional housing. And today, they’re making these beautiful, mouthwatering donuts,” said Stay. He said offering employment helps provide structure and purpose, but it also provides a safe and understanding place for those who are struggling to ease back into the workforce.

"Part of the beauty of having our social enterprises under the umbrella of our nonprofit is we can take the time to do what's best for the employees, whereas a for-profit entity has to worry solely about the bottom line and maximizing profits," said Stay. "If someone operates a little slower, if someone needs a little extra attention, we have that flexibility."

Nicholas Smith, general manager at the donut shop, lights up when he talks about his employees. He had been incarcerated and was struggling with addiction when he first heard of the Other Side Academy, which, he said, sounded like "no other drug program."

Smith applied for the academy, was accepted and later graduated. The Other Side Academy paid for his tuition for some IT training and later offered him a job in its IT department. Earlier this year, the Other Side Village board offered Smith the management job at Other Side Donuts.

He was a little apprehensive, admitting, “I didn’t know anything about doughnuts.”

“But what I do know is people, the culture, the accountability, the honesty. I know how to get these guys up and how to build that community and that’s what I’m doing here. It has less to do with the doughnuts — it’s a great product and people love the shop — but it’s the people side of it,” said Smith.

He continued, “We have limiting thoughts about the capabilities of a lot of these men and women that are living on the streets and I think showing them what they’re capable of and providing a safe place to reach those dreams, that’s what this whole thing’s about is dreams.”