Happy Dough Lucky Coming To Bay View
Opening soon. Until then, doughnut shop will have food truck on weekends outside its Kinnickinnic Ave. space.
Site of future Happy Dough Lucky, 2689-2691 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Photo taken May 12, 2022 by Jeramey Jannene. All Rights Reserved.
What’s in a name? Andrew Swofford‘s entire business, for one.
The veteran baker launched his doughnut business nearly a decade ago, vending seasonally at the South Shore Farmers Market. The concept later grew to a brick-and-mortar location in Mequon — now closed — and will soon include a new storefront in Bay View.
But before all that, Swofford thought of a name: Happy Dough Lucky.
“I was not into doughnuts before I started Happy Dough Lucky,” he said. “I actually thought of the name first and then kind of built the concept around that.”
The Bay View shop, 2691 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., is slated to open by the end of 2023 — if not sooner. It’s been a long time coming, said Swofford, who has occupied the space, formerly the site of HuếAsian Kitchen, for more than a year.
The Vietnamese restaurant has since expanded and relocated down the block. In the interim, Swofford used the space as a storage area for the business’s catering and mobile operations.
But it’s looking much different these days. The shop’s interior is an 80’s kid’s dream, with nearly every surface outfitted in retro arcade paraphernalia, pinball, cartoon characters and neon lights. Lego versions of Mario, Blinky (Pac-Man) and the Simpsons family are set up on high shelves, overlooking the bakery space.
“It’s all my childhood memories,” Swofford said. “All of it is just nostalgic.”
Happy Dough Lucky’s playful decor has a menu to match. The shop will serve eight to 10 flavors daily, Swofford said, including fan-favorites like birthday cake, Nutella banana and s’mores.
Doughnuts will be made in small batches each morning and displayed in a pastry case. As flavors begin to dwindle, Swofford will begin making them fresh to order.
The shop will also serve coffee and ice cream. Eventually, Swofford plans to add pizza to the menu. But there’s no set timeline. “The goal is to start slow,” he said.
A target opening date for Happy Go Lucky is mid- to late-November, depending on the speed of the permitting and licensing process, Swofford said.
In the meantime, fans of Happy Dough Lucky can purchase doughnuts from the business’s food truck, which will park outside of the Bay View location each weekend until the opening.
Weekend pop-ups take place on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Updates on the Bay View shop’s opening will be available online.
Photos
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