×

Charleston doughnut trailer hypes Appalachian flavors

CHARLESTON (AP) — Is it presumptuous to say a couple selling doughnuts out of a 1960s trailer can grow the local economy?

Probably.

But Charleston natives Stephanie and Josh Woody might be on to something. Recently the couple debuted “Vandalia Donut Company” — a 6-foot-by-10-foot hyper local bakery on wheels that prominently features ingredients from the Mountain State and surrounding areas.

“I wanted it to be a business that we could take to Chicago and they would know that it’s from the Appalachian region,” Stephanie said. “We’re really proud of where we live, and we want people to know that really good things come from here.”

By “really good things,” she doesn’t only mean her fresh homemade donuts.

“Our goal is to use this as a community builder,” Josh said. “Community is our goal, and we’re just using doughnuts to get there.”

It’s easy to sugarcoat things when you’re talking doughnuts. In fact, launching their company has been far more challenging than either of them thought it would be. For starters, neither has extensive experience in the food world; Stephanie is an interior designer and stay-at-home mom, and Josh is an engineer.

But they had an idea, which became a dream. Turning it into reality meant relying on a whole community of supporters.

The idea came about while the couple was visiting Stephanie’s family in Roanoke, Virginia. They stumbled upon an Amish family selling fresh doughnuts at a farmers market, which sparked the idea of opening a doughnut trailer.

“We thought it looked easy and like something we could handle on the side,” Josh said.

They mulled it over without really committing until May, when Stephanie spotted a 1963 camping trailer for sale in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Facebook. The next day, the two hopped in their car and traveled to pick up the $500 fixer-upper, hoping this might be their pot of gold.

“It had been sitting in a field for who knows how many years,” Stephanie said. “It was a disaster. It was awful.”

But they have a love for do-it-yourself handy work — and some relevant experience. The two had fixed up a camper the previous summer for their family, using Stephanie’s background in interior design and Josh’s experience flipping houses.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $3.92/week.

Subscribe Today