The couple purchased Milton’s Donuts at 3533 Roosevelt Blvd. in Middletown in 2014 from founder and longtime owner Dan Milton and opened a second location in 2017 at 777 Central Ave. in Carlisle.
The new West Chester location previously was home to the Donut House, which abruptly closed this spring.
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“We just thought that it was good time that we were able to expand,” Jay Byrne said. “We think we have things in a good position. We’re still using all the same recipes that Dan (Milton) used.”
Byrne said that everybody he talked to has told him the Donut House was doing “a really good business” before it closed for personal reasons.
“We thought ‘Well, that’s already been an established doughnut spot, so people are used to it being a doughnut spot,” he said. “When we’ve told people we’re going to go down there, they’re very excited.”
Milton’s Donuts offers 80 different varieties of doughnuts and dessert items such as large gourmet cookies, smiley-face cookies, cheese cups, cream horns, buckeyes and more.
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The business was named best doughnut store in Ohio by TravelPulse in 2018 on its list of the Best Donuts in Every State. It has worked to update its equipment and improve operations even after such honors.
“The old ones we had, we had to do a lot of maintenance on all the time,” he said.
Having their son John join the doughnut shop’s operation on a full-time basis after graduating from the University of Cincinnati in May 2018 is just one of the factors that has helped the family plan for expansion and look toward the future, Byrne said.
Amy Byrne and her son oversee the production of all the doughnuts. With the new store opening, John Byrne will run that location with from two staffers who will be moving over from the Middletown location, he said.
The Donut Hole by Milton’s Donuts will have as many as three new employees, he said. For more information, call 513-422-8612.
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