Wheeling has its fair share of culinary delights. From square pizza to fried fish, we love to sing praises for food that is uniquely Wheeling – and it seems that donuts are a rising star in our local food scene.
Wheeling is already home to many local bakeries that offer donuts daily, the greater Ohio Valley has two donut trucks, and the newest addition to the scene is Euphoric Doughnuts. But maybe Wheeling has always been a donut town. As a transplant to Wheeling, I can’t mention donuts to someone born and raised without hearing a childhood story of Green’s Donuts, which operated on Chapline Street from 1938 to the early 2000s. I sat down with Cameron Mitchell, owner of Euphoric Doughnuts to learn more about his motivation for taking on this sweet venture.
One of the first times I met Cameron, he asked if I could steer him in the direction of locally-sourced fruit to glaze and fill his doughnuts with. As a former farmer and a locally-focused chef myself, I was impressed by the effort put forth to use a seasonal ingredient. Finding commercial-scale farms and orchards in the area with wholesale pricing is a labor of love. Oftentimes getting fruit from local farms means picking it yourself or paying a retail price which increases the final cost for consumers. As the old idiom goes “the proof is in the pudding” (except with Euphoric, it’s in the fresh berry jam from Eric Freeland’s farm). Oh, and it’s in the fresh eggs from Eric Rubel’s Farm and the fresh butter Mitchell uses from Minerva Dairy.
Donuts, Doughnuts – What’s the Difference?!
Before we dive into Cameron’s story, let’s talk about the donuts. There are two types of donuts in the world, yeasted or cake. Yeasted DOUGHnuts are made with instant yeast or active dry yeast and are risen and then fried. Sometimes referred to as “raised doughnuts.” Cake donuts are made with a batter more similar to a cake and use a leavener, such as baking powder, to get a “rise.” Euphoric doughnuts are yeasted doughnuts.
If you’re nostalgic about the light airiness of the donuts of Wheeling’s past at Green’s, you’re going to want to try Euphoric. In the culinary world, the cake vs. yeasted donut is a hot debate. People are very loyal to their preferred type. Full disclosure, I prefer a yeasted doughnut. At the end of the day, even the most die-hard yeasted doughnut fan probably won’t turn down a fresh cake donut with a good coffee.
Software Programmer In the Kitchen
I asked Mitchell how a software programmer ends up creating a side business making and selling doughnuts. He says when he was living in Columbus, Ohio, he wanted to create a business in food or beverage. He was initially interested in wine, but the start-up costs were prohibitive. A good friend of his and a doughnut lover suggested the idea for a doughnut business and the two started doing research and developing recipes. This was over 2 years ago. Mitchell ended up in Wheeling by way of his girlfriend, who is from the area and has many family connections here. It’s what brought him to his current production location on the corner of Wood and 16th Street, the storefront that previously housed Biggy’s Pizza.
I asked Cameron what specifically about doughnuts caught his eye and he said once he started making them he just really fell in love with the process. The decision to work with food was easy as he says cooking is central in his family. When asked how he’s liked living in Wheeling so far, he names the close-knit community, knowing your neighbors, the historic architecture and the fact that Wheeling is a great place to raise his kids as top reasons he’s enjoying the Friendly City.
The Taste Test
At this point, you’re probably wondering – how are the doughnuts?! Before trying Euphoric Doughnuts for myself, I had heard rave reviews of their berry-filled doughnuts but I decided to go for the glazed braid first. I feel like the simple glazed is the base of all other doughnuts and I always like to stick to the basics to start. First of all the doughnut is light and airy and not too sweet, which I loved. Secondly, for $5 it was so large that I could have easily split with a friend or two. I have since tried the lemon meringue and the strawberry cream doughnuts and each one was simply delicious.
If you are ready to try one yourself, you can grab them every Friday at Table 304, located inside the Flatiron Building in Downtown Wheeling. It’s a welcome addition to the fantastic selection of coffee, teas and seasonal lemonades the shop serves. It’s also a great opportunity to support two downtown businesses at one location. Word to the wise – get there early because Euphoric Doughnuts at Table 304 don’t last very late into the day. Some Fridays they are even sold out just after 10 a.m.!
Cameron makes a variety of doughnuts each week - we advise going with friends so you can share and try a few different varieties.
Cameron says in the next few weeks he hopes to begin offering pre-orders for folks to use an online ordering system and pickup at his shop. No doubt this option will be popular for those early morning downtown office meetings. Keep up with Euphoric Doughnuts on Facebook and Instagram to be the first to find out about online ordering.
Eating a freshly fried yeasted doughnut isn’t going to take you back to the carefree days of your childhood at Green’s but maybe someday your kids will reminisce about the doughnut shop on the corner of 16th and Wood. Maybe it’ll even be… Euphoric!
• Melissa Rebholz was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, to a Sicilian/German family. She grew up in a household revolving around food. In 2007, a summer of volunteering for GrowNYC (New York City’s Farmer’s Markets) led her down the path to culinary school at The Natural Gourmet Institute and 10 subsequent years of farming from Long Island to Sonoma to Tennessee. Working simultaneously in kitchens to support her farming habit, Melissa migrated back to the rustbelt in October of 2019 to help Grow Ohio Valley open the Public Market as the head chef. Her hobbies include foraging, baking, dinner parties and exploring her new home of Wheeling, West Virginia. She currently owns and operates Midge’s Kitchen where she offers weekly menus for pickup in Downtown Wheeling that all utilize local, seasonal ingredients. Her most recent venture is Midge’s Hotdogs, a mobile hot dog cart in Downtown Wheeling.