Hello everyone! Welcome to a “sweet” Twitterview with the owner of @MojoDonuts, Lisa Clark. Lets get to tweeting!
So Lisa, lets get to know a little bit about you. Where did you grow up and go to school? @MojoDonuts
Lisa: I grew up in both New Orleans and Minneapolis. I lived in N’awlins for 11 years….
That’s why Beignets are in my blood! I went to high school in New Orleans. Some college but I kept changing majors.
I see. So when you were a child and in your teen years, what did you think you wanted to be when you grew up?
Lisa: When I was really young I wanted to be a lawyer. I believe donuts were a much better decision.
A battle of loopholes vs donut holes? :) So when did your interest in baking start for you?
Lisa: I can remember as young as kindergarten having an interest….
The first thing I learned was how to fry an egg when I was 6 years old. From there it was onward and upwards.
Lets then move forward to today. When and how did the idea of a donut shop come to you Lisa?
Lisa: Well, it is a culmination of things. First, my oldest daughter doesn’t like cake…
Every year on her birthday we would have donuts to celebrate instead of cake…
I never found great donuts in the Twin Cities and always thought great donuts need to be more accessible…
On my trips to Seattle I really felt inspired by their great donut culture….
That inspiration combined with my experience at Breadsmith made me think I could make this happen here in the cities.
Interesting. So how did you come to be at the location that you’re at in St.Paul? First choice?
Lisa: I’ve always loved St. Paul. I actually had been looking for about a year and was very excited when this spot opened up…
I have a wonderful ad agency that actually did the research on the space for me…
I had a list of things that were important to me and they gave the thumbs up that this space met the criteria.
Wonderful! What the story behind the name of your donut shop? How did you come up with it?
Lisa: My two youngest children actually named the shop..
It comes from their love of monkeys and a villain named Mojo JoJo from the cartoon series the Powerpuff Girls.
Great story! :) You offer a number of unique flavors of donuts. What made you go beyond the norm of choc/glazed?
Lisa: That’s how we like to eat at home and I hoped that customers would like it too. So far, so good! :)
What are your 3 most popular donuts, and what kind of flour do you use in baking?
Lisa: Raised ring with chocolate ganache, mango glaze and coconut ring and any of the fritters (apple or banana pecan)…
Bakers Patent, Pastry and Whole Wheat Flour…
And we have plans to start using locally sourced flour and dairy in the near future.
Awesome! Do you do curlers, eclairs, jelly filled or cream filled donuts? Do you think you’ll ever do breads?
Lisa: Yes and yes! We do all the above except éclairs. We do have a cream filled Bismarck similar to an éclair though…
Customers can special requests. We have filled quite a few already…
We don’t ever want to say never, but breads aren’t on our current horizon
Lots of people like coffee with their donut. What brands and flavors do you offer?
Lisa: We offer an entire organic fair trade coffee bar with all sorts of upgrades and sweet additions…
The beans are roasted locally by B&W coffee roasters.
Lots of donut talk gets me hungry! :) What are your hours of operation for when people can come for your tasty treats?
Lisa: Tuesday-Friday 5:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Thank you for your time today Lisa! Read more about her and other MN donut shops on @MNMOmag here – Article
Lisa: My pleasure Joel! Stop by sometime and give us a try!