Now that the Mad Goat Coffee team is taking over Royal Donut, the obvious question is: “How long was it in the works?” Mad Goat Coffee owner and manager Sam George says it was mentioned to them soon after Royal Donut closed, and at first they weren’t sure. But after meeting the former owners, discussions did get going after the first of the year. George says, it gradually just made sense.
AUDIO: We really started the conversation back in January. So it took several months for us to kind of work through the details; and, you know, make sure this was something we were all comfortable with. And the more we thought about it, the more we thought the combination was a great fit. Obviously coffee and donuts go great together.
George says plans are for both Mad Goat locations on the south and north side of Danville to remain as they are; and they and Royal Donut will be separate entities. But you’ll certainly see a hint of one when you’re at the other.
AUDIO: We’re not going to make Royal Donut be identical to Mad Goat, nor vice-versa. We will have some products that overlap, and are featured at both locations. We do want to keep the distinct Mad Goat feel and the distinct Royal Donut feel.
And then, what happens the day Royal Donut reopens? It should be quite a crowd. George says, fortunately, they’ve been through that before.
AUDIO: I think it’s safe to say it’s going to be crazy. We have some experience with that. When we opened our south Mad Goat location three years ago, that first week we had a huge response from our customers and we were very busy. So I think we’ve learned a few things. We know Danville’s excited for it, and we’ll do our best to be prepared.
Plans right now call for Royal Donut to reopen in July or August.
