518 Donuts open in Clifton Park; Troy expansion planned

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. — A new eatery called 518 Donuts is now open in Clifton Park, with plans to expand to Troy in the near future.

The local business – founded by Glenn Babineau, Joseph Carl and Sam Clifford – features fresh donuts, roasted coffee and fried chicken.

518 Donuts opened its doors in mid-September at 7 Southside Dr. in Clifton Park, in The Shops at Village Plaza, and is already seeing an overwhelming response from the community.

Still in its soft opening phase, 518 Donuts offers a variety of freshly made cake donuts, including traditional and premium flavors such as cookies and cream, maple bacon and cereal killer.

Donut bowls, made with Perry’s ice cream and gourmet dessert toppings are available too.

Additionally, 518 Donuts serves coffee and nitro cold brew by Wired, another local business.

The full menu, which will roll out in coming weeks, also includes fried chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets and gourmet dipper fries.

The chicken – which is fresh, never frozen and non-GMO – is prepared with a dry brining process, then fried not once but twice for extra crispiness. All fried chicken is gluten-free and the sandwiches can be served on a gluten-free bun.

Sandwich options are The Federal (topped with pickles, spicy 518 sauce and American cheese), The Mac (topped with pickles mac and cheese, BBQ aioli and crispy onions) and The Ginger (topped with Asian sesame soy, crispy onions and crumble blue cheese).

For customers craving both savory and sweet, a menu item called chicken fried dough features gourmet chicken tenders wrapped in donut batter, then topped with powdered sugar and maple aioli and served with housemade dipping sauce.

This idea for a donut business started when Babineau got inspired on a trip to the South. When he told his friends Clifford and Carl about his interest in opening a local donut shop they shared his entrepreneurial enthusiasm, and before long the trio was envisioning the concept of a donut and fried chicken joint.

As 518 Donuts establishes itself in Clifton Park, the owners are already working on a second Capital Region location. The business is anticipated to open in early 2022 at 501 Broadway in downtown Troy. This eatery, substantially larger than the Clifton Park shop, will sit on the corner of Sixth Avenue in the first-floor commercial space at The News Apartments, on the site previously home to The Record newspaper.

The Collar City was actually where 518 Donuts intended to open initially, but with a change of plans due to the pandemic, the Saratoga County shop made its debut first. These two sites are natural for the owners, who all currently live in Clifton Park but have roots in Troy. Babineau and Carl are Troy natives, while Clifford is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Looking ahead, the 518 Donuts team wants to continue expanding within the Capital Region and making a name for itself as a community-based business by supporting area charity events as well as fellow local businesses. They also plan to keep changing the menu to include more new and delicious offerings.

More information about 518 Donuts can be found online at 518donuts.com.

For hours of operation, customers can visit www.facebook.com/518donuts or call 518-93- DONUT.

Updates on the future Troy location, which is now under construction, will be shared on Facebook (@518donuts) and Instagram (@518_donuts).