Mr. D's Donuts Dives into Lenexa

A local Shawnee favorite joins the Lenexa Public Marketplace after surviving a pandemic

It’s 8 a.m. in Shawnee, Kansas. Buses rush students to school, the freeway is starting to back up and the sun has made it past the clouds. In a small strip mall off of 75th St. and Quivira Rd. sits Mr. D’s Donuts, a family-run bakery since 1975. Through the glass door a line awaits you, now to decide between their soft sugar cake donut or something different like a pin֮a colada fritter. You go in between with a classic blueberry cake donut that’s thick and fluffy -- perfect. After leaving a nice tip on your $1.05 total you look for a place to settle in. The new tufted upholstered chairs (provided by a loyal customer) catch your eye and you sit down to gaze out the window and watch the cars pass by.

A sense of comfort in this old-fashioned family business is immediately present as you take note of the original yellow wooden bar in the middle of the store, complete with faux leather covered bar stools. The worn newspaper clippings of the Mr. D posted by the cash register (that has to be from the sixties) bring a smile to your face as you take in this place’s history.

Owners Johnny Chen and Boggie Otgonbayar took over Mr. D’s Donuts from Chen’s godparents in 2018 with a hope to continue their legacy. With hundreds of five star reviews across online platforms and a 2019 editor’s pick in Kansas City Magazine’s ‘Best Of’ winners -- they’ve done just that.

“Our goal was not to change anything, but to try to keep everything the same as possible,” Otgonbayar said. “The recipe is still the same, the process and the equipment's still the same. Because [Chen’s godparents] already had a successful business [we wanted to] add to it, update and clean it up.”

Mr. D and his wife trained their up-and-coming owners for three months before letting them take the reins. Both Chen and Otgonbayar had no previous baking experience, and perfecting the handmade donut is no small feat.

Photo by Paige Eichkorn

Beginning at 2 a.m. Chen, Otgonbayar and their bakers mix the flour, water and yeast together according to the family recipe. Once the dough is done, it's cut into pieces, shaped and set aside to rise or "proof" and decorate later. Donuts made without yeast, such as cake donuts, are mixed in buckets and dropped in the fryer. Finally, the donuts are glazed or topped with icing. Tao, their talented decorator, taught the rest of the staff how to design simple but memorable donuts.

“Our customers have come here for decades,” Otgonbayar noted. “Longer than we've been born, they know this place and they know how it's supposed to taste and we don't want to disappoint them.”

The same sentiments are shared among their employees. Mary Fox, who wants to open her own restaurant or bakery one day, looks up to Chen and Otgonbayar’s achievements. After attending culinary school for a year, Fox started baking at Mr. D’s. One of her favorite parts of the job is making the dough in the wee hours of the morning, rolling and cutting it out while its fresh smell fills the bakery.

“The science behind baking is very sensitive, and you have to get all the elements right for your product to turn out right,” Fox said.

When the bakers aren’t in the kitchen or at their latest area pop-up, they’re dressing up for Halloween, out for staff dinners and even celebrating International Women’s Day together.

Photo courtesy of Mr. D's

“Johnny and Boggie are great,” Fox said. “The environment is very welcoming; when I first started I didn’t have any trouble fitting in. Outside of work we go out to eat together and it's more like working with your friends.”

These friends survived the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic this time last year. The family business of over 40 years had to close a few weekdays to stay afloat.

“During [the first months of the pandemic] I was going around town trying to grab any hand sanitizer, toilet paper and masks,” Chen said. “All those essentials, we put on a community table. I can say that we were the first one to offer those for free to the community.”

Chen spent three to five hours a day driving anywhere from Independence to Blue Springs to gather these high-demand supplies. He called nearly every area store manager to ask about product availability for the community. Customers visited from cities away to grab a few reusable masks when they heard Mr. D’s was providing them for free.

Photo by Paige Eichkorn

In the wake of an economic and health crisis, Mr. D’s was able to go above and beyond for its loyal and new customers. Their relationships with community organizations also remained unaffected. The staff is proud to make two to three donations a week to the Shawnee Mission Schools, Union Mission, Operation Breakthrough, the Shawnee Mission Community Center or the local fire and police departments.

“In return, we have a lot of customers, stop by, they buy one doughnut and give us $100 tips,” Chen recalled. "Their support is just outpouring. You really see how all your hard work pays off and how they really care about us. We truly feel like we're part of the communities.”

Over the past few months, Mr. D’s has hosted pop-up events at the Lenexa Public Marketplace with plans to submit a proposal to be a new anchor tenant. But, after receiving an offer from The Roasterie to take over their larger space in the open air merchant hall, they dove for the opportunity. Baristas from The Roasterie will be joining the team to brew the same Messenger coffee the community has known and loved. The Roasterie was the Market Place’s first merchant in 2017, but their last day of operation is March 31. The Mr. D’s crew is ecstatic for their grand opening on April 1. Visit them at 8750 Penrose Ln. in Lenexa.