Justin Stam moved from Alberta to Thunder Bay initially to work for Hydro One, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit he found himself laid off.
The idea of having a food trailer and selling mini donuts had been brewing for some time, but it was something he thought he would pursue when he was older. He started looking online for a trailer to use and began to build his own business.
In August 2020, he began to assemble Mini Donut Shoppe and perfecting his logo.
“I wasn’t really sure when we were going to open, I just wanted to give it enough time to get everything perfect and we opened on Family Day of 2021,” Justin says.
Mini Donut Shoppe operates from seasonally, from spring until fall. The food truck can typically be found next to Home Depot, however they also pop up at local high schools, concerts and private events like weddings and corporate gatherings. Although their business winds down over winter, they can pop up for a few events in their offseason.
They are always updating their Facebook page to inform customers about where they can be found next.
“We always post our locations for the week on our social media,” Justin says.
“We’ve got a second truck, that’s new this year. We ended up using it a few times, it will be fully operational next year, it’s going in for its full vinyl wrap very shortly. So we’ll have one that will be more permanent, for our permanent locations and the other one will be the satellite trailer that can do events, because we were finding that we were having to turn down some small jobs, like a kid’s birthday party or a wedding if it fell on the same weekend as say the CLE. There’s always so much going on in the summer, this way we’ll be able to satisfy more of Thunder Bay’s donut needs.”
"And we’ll also be open six or seven days a week.”
The areas that Mini Donut Shoppe operates in are typically parking lots, festivals and private events. The private events are all-inclusive.
“It’s all you can eat,” Justin says.
Beginning next year, Mini Donut Shoppe will also be offering coffee, because as Justin says, "you just need coffee with your donuts."
Their 2023 and 2024 wedding seasons are booking up fast so don’t delay if you’re considering booking. Check out Mini Donut Shoppe on Facebook for updates, and contact Justin directly for more information on private events: Justin@minidonutshoppe.com
