BROOKINGS – Doughnut aficionado Teresa McDermott is the proud owner and baker of Micro Doughnuts in Brookings.

Micro Doughnuts offers just that – bite-sized, fresh, hot doughnuts that are adorned with delectable toppings, all made to order.

After making and selling her treats all over the country via food truck, McDermott has finally settled in and is selling doughnuts at her first permanent business location, 1304 Sixth St.

Walking into the shop, customers are greeted with pastel pink and white walls and a pastel blue sign. The retro design with chrome seats at the bar allows customers to watch the doughnuts being made, all while listening to classics from the 1950s and ’60s. 

Along with the doughnuts, there are Kool Beans drip coffee and other beverage options available.

While Micro Doughnuts has been around for seven years, as of May 1 this location is McDermott’s first building location. In the years prior, Micro Doughnuts was a food truck.

Teresa and her husband, Steve, who works as a managing official at Royal River Casino in Flandreau, decided that it was finally time to settle down in one spot to continue raising their family.

When McDermott was living Seattle with her family, they happened across a local doughnut shop that specifically sold fresh, hot doughnuts covered in cinnamon and sugar. That was where she got her inspiration to begin their own doughnut shop.

However, even with this inspiration, McDermott believed that she could provide and even better option. The doughnut shop only offered the cinnamon sugar option – which is available at Micro Doughnuts – and the wait was always “at least an hour,” McDermott said.

Finding the best flavors and dough was a family endeavor. McDermott, her husband and children would spend days crafting the perfect recipe for doughnut toppings. With their award-winning pastry dough, the McDermott family has a plethora of flavors and combinations to choose from (cream cheese, blueberry, chocolate-hazelnut and maple-bacon, just to name a few).

Micro Doughnuts also has special flavors and concoctions that rotate with the seasons. During the summer they will have flavors such as s’mores and mango, during the fall pumpkin spice and apple pie, and during the winter there will be a chocolate peppermint doughnut. 

As another specialty rotation, one day a month they switch the usual vanilla-based pastry dough with chocolate dough.  

McDermott and her family of eight have lived in several states over the years, bringing their food truck with them. They went from California to New Mexico to Arizona to Nevada to Washington, often times moving between the states multiple times.

Throughout their moves, the Micro Doughnuts food truck would be featured at various events – like hot air balloon races – and various food truck competitions.

The McDermotts finally settled in Brookings a couple of years ago after all of their endeavors across the western half of the United States. Brookings was the ideal choice for them after James took a job at Royal River Casino. 

Many of McDermott’s children live all across the U.S., but they all still help out with the doughnut shop. Some of her children work on the Facebook page, others test out different recipes, and any help out with other additional assistance McDermott needs.

McDermott wanted a non-mobile doughnut shop, so she and her husband scoured the country for a place to settle, but she said nothing compared to the kind of quality business they could have in Brookings.

“We’re on Cloud 9 to be here. I couldn’t be happier. I think this is the perfect spot …we’ve looked everywhere, and this is the only place that has fit everything,” McDermott said.

McDermott hopes that she’s able to convey to the customers that she puts in a lot of time and love into her doughnuts and wants people to love them as much as she does.

To pick up a box of doughnuts, visit Micro Doughnuts at 1304 Sixth St., and watch for upcoming specialty doughnut announcements on the shop’s Facebook page.

Contact Matthew Rhodes at mrhodes@brookingsregister.com.