Hurts Donut Co. launching new Springfield store

Hurts Donut Co.'s new Springfield store is ready to go.

Founder and CEO Tim Clegg said Dec. 13 is the planned grand opening date at 1231 E. Sunshine St.

"We are doing a few soft opening days this week, focusing on training several new product lines that we will be offering at our new store," he said via email, pointing to kolaches, ice cream and an espresso lineup.

The doughnut restaurant chain's Facebook page indicates the store is open today.

The restaurant, which includes a drive-thru, employs roughly 60 new employees, Clegg said.

The Hurts Donut eatery is located in a retail and office center launched by Sagamore Hill Development Co. LLC in 2018. The restaurant fills a roughly 3,800-square-foot free-standing building, closest to National Avenue, that's been empty since the Sagamore Hill project was completed, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. The Sagamore Hill property is located across Sunshine Street from Mercy Hospital Springfield.

The store replaces Hurts Donut's original location in downtown Springfield. The company also has a Queen City store on the south side at 1111 E. Republic Road, Ste. 164. The company's website lists 20 stores in 10 states.

Clegg said franchise stores in the hopper include planned 2023 openings in Dallas; El Paso, Texas; Florence, Kentucky; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company's website does not currently list any stores in Kentucky or Florida.