After opening over the summer with a food truck setup at the Pearl Street Market parking lot in north Centralia, Beatbox Donuts has now found a new brick-and-mortar home in downtown Centralia — 209 S. Tower Ave. across the street from The Juice Box.
The Chronicle visited the made-to-order, mini-donut shop at its new location on Thursday, Oct. 9, to talk to owner Steve Hubbard about the move and the new location.
“The reason for the move was that I loved the location and loved where we were at, but I realized we’re in Washington,” Hubbard said. “Once it starts raining and once it starts snowing, people aren’t gonna really wanna wait in line for hot, fresh donuts. So I figured if I had a location that has heat and a roof, people can come in and still get their hot fresh donuts.”
He was still thankful to Pearl Street Market owner Harnek “Nick” Dhudwal for helping him get off the ground.
While the menu is mostly the same as before, some things have changed as Hubbard is now serving fresh drip coffee using locally roasted beans.
“You can get espresso everywhere, but fresh drip coffee, if you’re not going to a restaurant, you can’t really get it anywhere else,” Hubbard added.
Instead of customers having to wait outside of a trailer for their order, a plexiglass wall allows them to watch their donuts being made inside the store. Additionally, Beatbox Donuts is now on DoorDash for those in the area wanting donuts delivered.
“They’re a third-size bigger than the normal (mini) donut and shelf-stable. We had to rethink outside the box, because we can’t serve the hot, fresh donuts out through DoorDash. They wouldn’t come out the same,” Hubbard said. “So, we came up with a new recipe.”
The new location also comes with new hours, as Beatbox Donuts will now be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closed on Sunday and Monday.
For those out enjoying downtown Centralia’s nightlife on the weekend, Hubbard is also doing “Beatbox Afterhours” from midnight to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
“So when the bars close, they can come here to get some fresh hot donuts and some coffee to sober up a little bit before heading home,” Hubbard said.
While he did have some trouble getting his paperwork in order when he initially opened up Beatbox this past summer, Hubbard stated City of Centralia staff had been more than helpful in expediting his permit and business license applications.
“They bent over backwards to come in here and get the inspections done. We got everything done in 30 days, from the new floor, to the wall to the ventilation system,” he said.
Hubbard also did work in the back getting his new donut shop set up, installing new kitchen equipment and triple-sink set up.
Other nearby downtown businesses helped Hubbard get set up, too, as he thanked the Rustic Heritage Bakery & Cafe for donating the triple-sink and a hand-washing station, and The Juice Box, which donated prep tables.
His new location also comes with a three-year lease where Hubbard has the option to outright buy the building at the end of it.
“Ron Sharpe bent over backwards too, to get us in here, the owner of the building,” Hubbard said. “He saw the article that was in the paper and he reached out to me and talked, and he said, ‘What is it going to take for you to get in here?’ I said, ‘I need this, this and this,’ and he goes, ‘OK, done. You’re the guy for this building, so let's make it happen.’ He was super, super nice.”
Part of Hubbard’s agreement with the city to open up on South Tower Avenue was to not just block off the windows of the adjacent store space connected to Beatbox Donuts in the building. Hubbard’s solution? Turn the currently vacant storefront into a vintage toy display to help attract customers.
“I got with the downtown historical association and I’m bringing out all my G.I. Joes and putting them in the windows here,” Hubbard said. “Eventually, I’ll have the USS Flagg too. I’m gonna put that thing together. It was like a mythical toy when you were a kid. ‘Is that really something you can get?’ But now I have one, so I’m going to put it in the window here.”
The USS Flagg was a giant G.I. Joe aircraft carrier playset over seven feet long and three feet wide produced during the mid 80s — and the giant toys are highly sought after by collectors with a graded, sealed-in-box USS Flagg recently selling for $41,430 at the 2024 LCG Auctions Spring Premier Auction in New Orleans, Louisiana, according to actionfigureinsider.com.
A pair of televisions are mounted on the wall as well, playing cartoons for customers’ children throughout the day.
For more information on Beatbox Donuts, call the business at 503-849-1498, follow it on Facebook at https://tinyurl.com/8z5tkm2h or read The Chronicle’s previous story at https://tinyurl.com/2s3a2waf.
