RVA Donut Wars: Duck Donuts opening shop at Willow Lawn this fall

Small donut chain with Outer Banks roots will turn up the heat on the RVA donut wars this fall.

July 7, 2014; 10:17 AM • by Trevor Dickerson

A small donut chain with Outer Banks roots, who announced the opening of their first Richmond location earlier this year, will open its doors this fall in The Shops at Willow Lawn.

Duck Donuts is currently building out a 1,479 square foot location near the plaza next to Tropical Smoothie Cafe and plans to open later this year, according to the shopping center’s management company, Federal Realty.

The franchise originated in the village of Duck on the northern beaches of the Outer Banks and prides itself on warm, fresh, made to order donuts alongside unparalleled customer service.

“We chose to bring Duck Donuts to the Richmond market because of the interest that’s been expressed by our consumers on social media and through our website,” said Keith Exton, franchise owner of the Richmond location. “Willow Lawn stood out as a great location for our first store due to the proximity of the shopping center to downtown Richmond as well as the West End.”

The donut chain has four locations on the Outer Banks (Corolla, Duck, Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk) and later franchised its first two locations in Virginia Beach and Williamsburg, respectively.

File photo/Trevor Dickerson