Doughnut miss out on Donut Craze

Check out the variety of tasty doughnuts at Donut Craze.

Welcome back to another Spotlight Series with Sarah!
The series where the writer gets to know the city more personally, while the readers get to know the writer better in the process.
When you move into a new house or have new neighbors move in next to you, you hold your breath on whether you’re getting good neighbors or neighbors of nightmare.
When my new neighbors moved in back in 2019, I quickly realized I hit the jackpot of neighbors. Theron and Autumn were a younger, married couple that just had their first child, Theron II. They got a dog, had their second child, Mya, and got another dog.
We never had long conversations but were always friendly with each other – always saying “hi” in passing or waving when we saw each other.
Autumn spends most of her time outside, either gardening flowers in her front yard, gardening vegetables in her backyard, playing with the kids, playing with the dogs, etc. While I work from home, I always hear the kids’ laughter through my window throughout the day.
I can always tell when Theron gets home from work because I’ll hear the kids run out to his work van to greet him. So many times, I’ll look out my window and see Theron walking the dogs or standing at the grill in the backyard.
Theron and Autumn are some of the kindest and most thoughtful people I have ever met. Theron will frequently ask if I or my family want any of the food he is grilling. He brought over jumper cables when my mom’s car wouldn’t start. Autumn will always offer me fresh vegetables from her garden. She will shovel my sidewalk or rake my leaves while I’m working.
I’ve tried to repay their kindness by racing to shovel her snow first or water her plants/gardens when they’re out of town. I was able to get their kids some free scooters from a job I used to work at and we got our dogs to play together a few times. Even though we weren’t super close, I always appreciated having them live next door to me. Then recently, I learned about two back-to-back tragedies that Autumn and her family were experiencing. I knew I needed to step up, not just as a neighbor, but as a friend.
I started reaching out more, stopping by, and inviting Autumn and the kids places with me to get them out of the house. The more time I spent with Autumn and the more we got to know each other, the more I realized we actually had in common.
On Thursday, May 29th, I invited Autumn and the kids to come to Donut Craze with me after I got off work.
When we arrived, I could already see rows and rows of doughnuts from outside after parking the car.
Autumn informed me that they actually had been there many times before and the kids absolutely love the place, which made me even more ready and excited to try it.
We walked inside and I was slightly overwhelmed with how many choices were on display.
Autumn and the kids came prepared and ordered quickly. Theron II got a chocolate frosted with sprinkles, Mya got a vanilla Long John, Autumn got a vanilla frosted with sprinkles, and an apple fritter for Theron.
I immediately knew I wanted a strawberry frosted with sprinkles (my favorite doughnut) and I also ordered a coffee frosted to share with my mom (a huge doughnut fan). However, I did have my eye on the lemon frosted, sugar, and coconut doughnuts that also sounded good to me, among the many other flavors available.
Theron II and Mya both really liked the frosting on their doughnut, and Autumn loved how soft hers was. Autumn and Theron both commented on the size of their doughnut — how it’s larger than standard.
I agree with all of their feedback. My strawberry frosted seemed larger than a standard doughnut, the doughnut was soft, and the frosting was sweet.
My mom commented on how strong the aftertaste of coffee was after she tried the coffee frosted doughnut, which I loved.
I’m definitely planning on going back to try as many other flavors as I can.
Donut Craze opened in Wayne somewhere around ten weeks ago, on President’s Day – Monday, February 17th. A ribbon cutting ceremony is currently being planned possibly for the end of June.
“It’s been terrific since opening,” said Dayne Nundley, Donut Craze owner/chef. “We’re something new, something done right, and like our logo, genuinely fresh.” Nundley makes the doughnuts and other sweet treats fresh daily.
After working 27 years at FedEx, Nundley decided it was time for a change and opened his own bakery. “Baking is simple and I have a passion for it,” said Nundley.
Nundley has been cooking all of his life, he went to culinary school and has been baking for a few years. “I’ve learned from other people and from training. I take other people’s recipes and add to it to make it my own. I’m not scared to learn new things. I experiment, and I like what I came up with. I ain’t giving anyone my recipe,” said Nundley.
Some of Donut Craze best-selling items are the apple fritter and the cinnamon rolls. Though, Nundley states the best-selling items can vary from week to week. “They [the customers] like everything I put on the shelf,” said Nundley.
Donut Craze is located at 39365 Michigan Ave and is open 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday – Saturday and 7 a.m. – 1 p.m. Sunday. For more information about Donut Craze, call (734)628-8808, or email donutcraze25@gmail.com. Come inside to place an order. A website is currently in the works. You can find them on Facebook by searching “Wayne-Donut Craze”.
“We’re here for the people and we’re happy to be a part of the community,” said Nundley. Be sure to check out Donut Craze and be on the lookout for the next Spotlight Series with Sarah!