By Carmella Boykin SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — If you’ve ever stepped foot into the donut shop “Glazed and Confused” on North Clinton Street in Downtown Syracuse, you know it’s an immersive experience.
Not only are you surrounded with the smells and smells of fresh donuts, you are immersed in the music and donut-themed artwork as well.
“Whenever walks in they usually have a smile on their face,” said 11-year-old co-founder Roman Valenti. “And if they don’t, by the time they get their donuts they will.”
Thursday marked the shop’s first anniversary and to celebrate, Glazed gave out free coffee and all donuts were $1.
Owner Paul Valenti attributes the shop’s success to sticking to their mission statement.
“To serve the freshest donuts on the planet, to give an immersive experience, and to give back to the community,” he said.
The store made headlines recently after the Dunkin’ water pitcher incident—where a Dunkin’ employee poured an entire pitcher of ice water on a homeless man to get him to leave.
The Valentis responded by donating 1,000 donuts to the homeless in Syracuse.
“We always give back,” said Paul Valenti. “We just felt it was perfect timing to do. We didn’t want to go to the press, the press actually called us because they heard about it.”
Even though it seems like a lot of extra work, Paul Valenti says that was the agreement made with his kids when they opened Glazed.
“We said we’d do this donut shop as long as they worked and they gave back to the community,” said Paul Valenti. “They learned what it took, and we’re just trying to stay true to that.”
The next place to see Glazed in the community is at the Annual Tree Lighting Event in downtown Syracuse, where they’ll collect hats and gloves to donate to charity.
