Case Study 007: Tigard Donut

Site Name:     Tigard Donut
Site Address: 13815 SW Pacific Hwy
                       Ste 80
                       Portland, OR 97223



There are a million Tigard Donuts out there. Go to LA and you'll see a Tigard Donut on every other corner. Tigard Donut is a nondescript, immigrant-owned doughnut shop tucked away in a suburban strip mall. But we love these places and, quite frankly, Portland doesn't have enough of them.

Figure 1. Site Exterior

Tigard Donut has all the things you're looking for: old men arguing about politics, early hours, bad coffee, and solid, sugary doughnuts. Why is it that these places only exist in Portland suburbs (except for you, Annie's...)?

 Figure 2. Site Interior

Did we mention how awesome the owners are? The research team was cutting it pretty close to closing time, as TD closes either at 1pm or when they decide there aren't enough customers to justify sticking around. Luckily, we called ahead. And they gladly set aside a apple fritter for Josh out of caution and promised to stay open until we got there.

Figure 3. Site Owners

Josh reported that his fritter was sweet and light. The fritter had a heavy glaze and chocked full of apples. There are two types of apple fritters: those made out of apple/cinnamon flavored dough and those that have chunks of apple tossed in. Normally, Josh is pretty happy with the former normally, but Tigard pulls off the latter pretty well. A little sweet, but a solid doughnut.

Figure 4. Josh's Sample

Lorna sampled an eclair on this outing. Her notes were recorded for posterity.

 
Figure 5. Lorna's Sample

But the very best part of Tigard Donut is the fact that they have a kid's book all about the life of Arnie the Donut. It's an epic tale of self-discovery of one plucky little chocolate-sprinkled upstart. Highly recommended.

Figure 6. Reading Material