New Business Off to Fast Start in Wilmington

Editor's Note: The following answers are from Shawn Mustapha, who opened The Donut Shop on Middlesex Ave. on April 11, as a part of Patch's weekly Wilmington Business Q&A feature.

Since you opened in April, what has your experience been like?

It's been a great experience. We get a lot of regular customers already and we're growing daily.

What made you want to open your business in Wilmington?

I have family members and it’s a really nice town, great community. This was also a great location and I thought it would be a great place to be.

What products are most popular at The Donut Shop?

We have fresh homemade, handmade donuts fresh every day, delivered at 4:40 a.m.. We partner up with a baker in Boston. We have 12 flavored coffees, with no syrup. They're all freshly brewed. We also have fresh egg sandwiches on croissants, English muffins or bagels. Now that the nice weather is coming we’re getting busy with with our six flavors of frozen drinks.

With Dunkin' Donuts across the street, do you feel the like your small business is competing against a much larger corporation?

Dunkins is Dunkins. They do a great business. We’re just trying to get a piece of their pie. We’re known for our fresh product here. We have a good product, which is why we have about 200 regulars already.

What's the biggest challenge of owning a business?

Everything is a challenge. You have to lay out a good product and hope people come back and keep it going. If we give a good product, I’m a firm believer we’ll continue to get the customers.

Are you surprised with how well received you've been in town?

I'm a little surprised. I was hoping for the respons that we've gotten, and I see it only getting better. At first people were coming in to see the store, now they've seen that they're starting to come to the drive-thru, which has been really busy as of late.