Sugar Shack Donuts’ skull scavenger hunt begins today

A government shutdown hasn’t stopped Sugar Shack Donuts from promoting RVA and giving away free doughnuts.

October 1, 2013; 10:04 AM • by Nathan Cushing

Update #1 — October 1, 2013; 10:03 AM

Sugar Shack Donuts employees have hidden 25 plastic skulls across the city as part of a month-long scavenger hunt to promote Richmond businesses and locales by rewarding skull finders with free doughnuts (see below).

Last night, Sugar Shack Donuts posted on Facebook the first clue to the skulls’ locations by listing both the number and type of spots they can be found at:

13 restaurants
8 retail shops
2 parks
1 brewery
1 festival

The 24 small skulls are good for a free order of a dozen doughnuts. The big skull yields four orders of a dozen doughnuts and two T-shirts.

Good luck and happy hunting, RVA!

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Original — September 24, 2013

Beginning October 1st, 24 small plastic skulls will be hidden across Richmond in restaurants and shops. Those who find them will be entitled to one free order of a dozen doughnuts from Sugar Shack Donuts. Those who find the one large skull will earn four orders of a dozen doughnuts along with two T-shirts. It’s how Ian Kelley, co-owner of Sugar Shack, hopes to draw attention to the other local businesses he admires.

“I love Richmond,” said Kelley. “I like being here, and I like the way it works.”

He decided he’d use the 25 skulls–which he found while shopping for Halloween items last weekend–in the scavenger hunt. “I want other businesses to get recognition,” Kelley said.

Next week, the skulls will scatter across the city to the sites of those businesses, along with the possibility of appearing at one or two local parks. “The idea is that we’re not going to tell the owners,” Kelley said, to ensure their employees don’t have an added advantage and to surprise the businesses when their skulls are discovered.

Richmonders may find several of the skulls on October 1st, but Kelley believes it’ll be a month-long search. “I think it’s going to take people the whole month of October to find them all,” he said.

photo courtesy of Sugar Shack Donuts