Sugar Cube Donuts Joins Outdoor Public Market

The outdoor space at the Milwaukee Public Market just got a sweet new vendor.

Sugar Cube Donuts, a donut shop that features Instagram-worthy square donuts with unique flavors and extravagant toppings, is the latest to join the seasonal, outdoor vendors at the public market, 400 N. Water St.

It’s a sister restaurant to On The Bus, a vegan restaurant located inside the market. The donut concept was originally supposed to be a weekly special at On The Bus, but grew into a brand and shop of its own.

“The public market kind of feels like home,” said Paige Hammond, director of marketing and growth at Playing in the Plants Restaurant Collective, in an interview. Sugar Cube is a venture of Playing in the Plants Restaurant Collective, a plant-based restaurant group led by Emily Ware that operates On The Bus and The Green Kitchen in the public market.

Before setting up shop July 8th on the sidewalk along St. Paul Avenue, Sugar Cube sold donuts as a pop-up shop at different businesses around Milwaukee. The shop partnered with businesses including The Kind Oasis and BelAir Cantina for temporary offerings. This summer, however, Sugar Cube is selling exclusively at the public market.

Its menu includes staple flavors like glazed and maple alongside a rotating selection of specialty flavors, all without eggs or dairy. This month, cotton candy, churro horchata, sweet corn and banana cream pie are in the forecast of temporary flavors.

Hammond invents the adventurous menu items by asking herself: “What kind of dessert can I put on top of a donut?”

Each rotation only lasts a few days, so donut fans should plan ahead if they want to try one out.

Sugar Cube joins Sneaky Pete’s and The Draft Patio as summer outdoor vendors at the market. It’s open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.