If you’ve been active on social media since the spring semester started, you have definitely heard of Dad’s Dough. My Instagram stories have been raving about @dadsdoughs and I decided to investigate. Open daily from 7 AM to 2 PM, they are located at 483 Storrs Rd. They have been proudly serving the community since December 2024. Now that University of Connecticut students have returned for the spring semester, Dad’s Doughs has been active on the Storrs campus. I had a special opportunity on Wednesday, Feb. 12 to visit Dad’s Doughs and get the full small business experience with the owner and DAD himself, Lucas Ahern.
all about the shop
The shop features local goods across Connecticut. They serve Baronet Coffee Roasters (Windsor, CT) and exclusively sell Mountain Dairy (Storrs, CT) milks and creamers, Hosmer Mountain Soda (Willimantic, CT) soft drinks, and Village Springs (Willington, CT) bottled water for local bottled beverage options. I had the French vanilla iced coffee and can attest that shopping locally is the best thing ever. I will be dreaming about that coffee until my next trip over. Ahern shared that the donut mix is local to Massachusetts and their gluten-free donuts are dairy, soy, peanut, and tree nut-free.
The shop often makes around 1,300 doughnuts on busy days and has been filling catering orders outside of regular hours as big as 500 to 700 doughnuts. They have tried to engage with the local community at every turn and even gave away free donuts and coffee to UConn students camping outside Gampel Pavillion during the freezing cold. Ahern offered me and two fellow UConn Her Campus members, (shoutout: Doreen Alberino and Stephania Korenovsky for being my doughnut buddies), a full tour of the kitchen. We saw the process from mixing the dough to frying the final product. With only a doughnut frier in the back, they are solely focused on making good quality doughnuts and serving fresh coffee. Ahern shared his vision for Dad’s Doughs from the original sketches to the official blueprint, and the actual operation as of today!
Customers can purchase online or in-person, but not over the phone. Rewards are one point for every dollar spent with redemption at 50 points for $5 off!
now for the donuts
Now the important part: the doughnuts. I originally planned on a simple ranking of my top 10 flavors but the experience was so amazing, I had to share everything I learned. Every day you can get the six main flavors: plain, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, honey glazed, jelly, and chocolate frosted. Of course, I tried them all. The plain donut is a classic New England cake doughnut and with a hint of nutmeg, I found it to be my favorite!
Dad’s Doughs Mini Doughnuts are 2-3 bites each allowing guests to choose multiple flavor options for everyone in the family
https://dadsdoughs.com
Each day there are 12 special flavors that rotate in and out based on holidays and themes going on. Some may only be available a single day meanwhile flavors like Dulce De Leche or Cookies & Cream have been around for weeks.
On top of the 12 daily specials, Ahern mentioned that there are sometimes other flavors available when things start to run out. He offered me a box of six separate flavors that I consider a “secret menu”. Try and ask for Husky Style (top right) or Strawberry Shortcake (top left)!
Merch options
The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the hat that Ahern wore! The iconic DAD hat made me smile and I may have purchased it. A great opportunity to help promote a local business. I felt I had to share my love for donuts and dads.
Shirts, hoodies, coffee mugs, and hats are all available for purchase and eligible for the rewards program.
My official ranking
Ranking donuts is hard work and 12 mini doughnuts are actually way more than you think if you try and copy this idea. But I came to provide a detailed report for the Her Campus community, and I plan to honor that! Here is my ranking for Wednesday, Feb 12. daily specials.
12. Cupid’s smooch: Whipped chocolate icing, raspberry puree, and white chocolate chip
11. coco loco: caramel sauce, chocolate drizzle, and coconut flakes
10. salted caramel: caramel sauce and Maldon salt flakes
9. blueberry pancake: maple frosting, blueberry puree, and graham cracker crumbs
8. cookies & cream: whipped vanilla icing, chocolate drizzle, and Oreo pieces
7. Dad style: strawberry frosting and rainbow sprinkles
6. FRUITY PEPPLES: DANISH GLAZE AND FRUITY PEBBLES CEREAL
5. DULCE DE LECHE: WHIPPED VANILLA ICING AND DULCE DE LECHE PUREE
4. MAPLE BACON: HOUSE MAPLE FROSTING AND BACON PIECES
3. RASPBERRY LOVE: RED RASPBERRY JAM, RASPBERRY PUREE, AND POWDERED SUGAR
2. STRAWBERRY COCONUT: DANISH GLAZE, STRAWBERRY COCONUT SAUCE, AND COCONUT FLAKES
1. HONEY PRETZEL: HOUSE HONEY GLAZE, PRETZEL PIECES
I could go into explicit detail on this ranking but the short story is I prefer a jam-filled donut. However, I absolutely loved the honey pretzel and could not explain why it tasted so good in comparison to the others. But eating a crunchy pretzel and a soft honey glaze with the New England doughnut base was the perfect compliment. I hope this flavor is around for more months!
Conclusion
This morning trip was an awesome experience and I had so much fun exploring the depth and richness of Mansfield’s local businesses. It also taught me that supporting local businesses can be fun. It seems that UConn and Dad’s Dough have plenty of opportunities to mingle and collaborate so I highly suggest taking the trip out of center campus to visit and eat yummy doughnuts.