Duck Donuts Opens This Week on Cortez Boulevard, Grand Opening Set for Sept. 13

Hernando County is getting its first Duck Donuts. The made-to-order doughnut chain is set to open at 13105 Cortez Blvd in Spring Hill, with a soft opening on Sept. 12 and a full grand opening on Sept. 13.

Staff training begins Sept. 8, followed by a friends-and-family preview event on Sept. 11. Once open, the shop plans to run seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., giving Spring Hill families a new stop for weekend treats and morning coffee runs.

The shop is a husband-and-wife franchise run by Michael and Christina Putnam, who are managing their first Duck Donuts location. The couple said they fell for the brand after visiting the original Duck Donuts store in North Carolina and wanted to bring that experience home.

What's inside

The Cortez Boulevard shop is small, about 1,080 square feet, with seating for nine at chairs, tables and barstools. The draw is the open kitchen: customers order at the counter, then watch their doughnuts get dropped into the fryer, glazed and topped right in front of them.

Beyond doughnuts, the menu includes espresso, cold brew, drip coffee, frozen blended drinks, milkshakes, ice cream and ice cream sandwiches, giving it a broader coffee-and-dessert menu than a typical doughnut counter.

The new shop lands on a stretch of Cortez Boulevard that has picked up several new businesses recently, part of a broader wave of retail growth along that corridor in Spring Hill. For a county where new sit-down and quick-service options tend to draw crowds in the first weeks, a grand opening on a Saturday is likely to bring a line.

Duck Donuts has not said whether the grand opening will include the giveaways or promotions the chain sometimes runs at new locations elsewhere. Anyone planning to go on opening day should expect a wait, especially given the shop's small seating area.

Stay connected with more Hernando County business news at Hernando County Community Website, and follow along on Facebook for updates as they happen. Got thoughts on the new spot or other openings along Cortez Boulevard? Join the conversation in our Community Forum, and check out more business stories from around the county.

Header photo: Liz DeCoster / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)