Sleeping Bird Doughnuts in Talleyville has been so well received that it’s working on how many doughnuts to make to meet the demand.
Donuts are having a day in Delaware. Last week, Sleeping Bird Doughnuts opened at 4001 Concord Pike behind Lucky’s Coffee Shop in Brandywine Hundred.
The newcomer is an offshoot of Sleeping Bird Coffee on Miller Road in Wilmington.
The doughnut shop joins a bevy of businesses specializing in sweet indulgences. On nearby Marsh Road, the intriguing combo of Hill Donut Co. & Pancake House and 322 BBQ specializes in hefty brioche doughnuts that take two hands to hold. (Donut is an alternative spelling primarily used in the U.S.)
Dunkin’ opened a new location on the corner of Marsh and Wilson roads, and there are already sites on Naamans Road and Philadelphia Pike.
Entrepreneurs Meg and Dan Hurst own DonutNV, a food truck. They also own Sweet Lucy’s Ice Cream & Treats on Concord Pike and the Cajun Sno , another food truck.
And that’s just in North Wilmington.
Sleeping Bird Doughnuts grew out of the popularity of the doughnuts sold by Leigh Ann Tona and Zach DeLong at their Sleeping Bird Coffee Shop on Miller Road.
A long tradition
According to Smithsonian Magazine, doughnut variations have been around so long that “archaeologists keep turning up fossilized bits of what look like doughnuts in the middens of prehistoric Native American settlements.”
But most culinary experts credit Dutch immigrants in Manhattan, then New Amsterdam, with the invention of olykoeks (oily cakes).
In the 19th century, Elizabeth Gregory made a deep-fried dough for her son, a sea captain. She used nutmeg, cinnamon, and lemon rind—perhaps as a scurvy preventative. She then placed a large nut in the center, creating the signature ring shape. Doughnuts were born.
Why the hole? Theories abound. Some say it allowed the captain to put his treat on a wheel spoke when he needed both hands to steer.
In World War I, female volunteers brought doughnuts to American soldiers, leading to the nickname “doughboys.” Thanks to a Harlem baker, the first doughnut machine debuted in 1920. Krispy Kreme originated in Kentucky in the 1930s and doughnuts were sold door-to-door.
But, as Sleeping Bird fan Ozer says: “There’s donuts and then there’s Sleeping Bird. Different discussion. Make high quality and people will come.”
Sleeping Bird takes flight
At Sleeping Bird, doughnuts have become a canvas for creativity. Sleeping Bird owners Leigh Ann Tona and Zach DeLong have plenty of ideas.
DeLong previously owned Scission Craft Coffee, a food truck specializing in fanciful flavor combinations. For instance, the Maryland native blended Old Bay and brown sugar in a latte. Other favorites included vanilla, brown sugar and cardamom.
Tona was at the forefront of the food truck trend with I Don’t Give a Fork, a finger-food concept she created while attending the University of Delaware.
The couple met at food truck events and took their romance on the road. In 2021, they opened Sleeping Bird Coffee on Miller Road in Wilmington between Wilmington Brew Works and La Pizzeria Metro.
The coffee and sandwiches attracted the crowd, but the shop quickly became known for award-winning cinnamon buns. DeLong’s best-selling bun boasts a brown sugar-cinnamon filling and brown butter-cream cheese frosting. It’s not unusual for Sleeping Bird to sell 100 between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Christmas Eve.
DeLong started making doughnuts for fun.
“They were so popular,” Tona said. “We were making more and more, but we didn’t have a fryer. The demand exceeded the supply.”
When their landlord told them about the Concord Pike property, they initially considered it for a production space.
“The more we thought about it, the more we drew up plans, the more we decided to make this a separate business,” she said.
Sleeping Bird Doughnuts is at 4001 Concord Pike in the Talleyville Town Shoppes, behind Lucky’s Coffee Shop.,
Not average old-fashioned
The 750-square-foot shop always has at least three different doughnuts, including a filled brioche doughnut, a brioche ring and an old-fashioned cake style.
Flavors change every two weeks and have included chocolate glazed with sprinkles and s’mores with marshmallow filling. South of Boston is a doughnut with malted vanilla cream.
“Zach and I always like trying unique types of food,” Tona said. “I wasn’t going to do a normal glazed doughnut.”
Coffee, iced coffee and strawberry lemonade are also available.
Sleeping Bird Doughnuts, at 4001 Concord Pike in the Talleyville Town Shoppes, is open Thursday through Sunday, and thus far determining how many doughnuts to make has been challenging.
IN THE NEWS: The first new school in the city of Wilmington in 50 years opens Friday.
On opening day, the shop sold all 375 doughnuts in an hour. They doubled their production and sold out before noon.
An experiment in online ordering turned into an episode from “The Bear.”
Tickets flew out of the machine, and customers ordered 12 at a time. So, don’t be surprised if online ordering isn’t active until the crew finds their footing. The partners have already fielded requests for large classroom and office orders.
Sleeping Bird Doughnuts may offer pies for the holidays, but right now, it’s only time to make the doughnuts.
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