A pair of new pastry shops look to debut in the Triangle this year, owned by chefs with backgrounds in some of the area’s top restaurants.
Tepuy Donuts will launch its first brick-and-mortar location this summer just outside the Raleigh Beltline, building on the momentum of its doughnuts sold in nearly a dozen Triangle cafes and restaurants. The doughnut shop from former Mandolin line cook Alejandro Contreras will breathe new life into a former strip mall tax office on Capital Boulevard.
The new Lutra Bakeshop held its first pop-up last weekend, selling out of more than 200 artisan sticky buns and other baked treats within a couple hours.
Here’s more about the two pastry shops.
Lutra debuts at the walk-up window of the downtown Durham restaurant Queeny’s.
The new stickybun shop is the baking project of former Poole’side Pies chef de cuisine Chris McLaurin, who created the concept late last year following the closing of the Raleigh pizzeria. Pop-ups will be from 8 to 11 a.m. on Sundays from the Queeny’s sidewalk window, located at 321 E. Chapel Hill St., Durham.
That first menu included four sticky bun flavors: orange, chocolate, salted honey and lemon poppyseed, plus pretzels and cookies and cups of coffee brewed from Durham’s Little Waves beans.
McLaurin grew up in Chapel Hill and has been cooking professionally for about 15 years, first entering the Washington, DC restaurant scene after culinary school, cooking at two of the city’s very best restaurants of the time, the fine dining Komi and the fiery Thai spot Little Serow. He returned to the Triangle in 2013 and has worked at Picnic, Rose’s, La Place and most recently Poole’side Pies.
Lutra is named after the Latin word for “otter,” which McLaurin says he’s using to set a playful tone for the shop.
“Otters are a little playful and mischievous, we’re not taking things too seriously here,” McLaurin said. “Our menu is sticky buns and cinnamon roll--total nostalgia. For me, I think of pulling apart Pillsbury cinnamon rolls while watching cartoons on a Saturday morning.”
Cinnamon buns will be the focal point, McLaurin said, alongside other brioche-based sweet and savory pastries, and eventually some baked loaves.
Lutra is currently looking for its brick-and-mortar space in Durham and will operate Sundays out of the Queeny’s window.
In a way, Tepuy Donuts owner Alejandro Contreras set off on his quest of doughnut perfection after catching the inspiration of a hot and fresh glazed original from Krispy Kreme.
“To be honest, I love Krispy Kreme. Krispy Kreme was the kick for me to jump into doughnuts and pull the trigger on my own shop,” Contreras said. “I was living in Argentina and came to the States to visit friends in Florida. They took me to Krispy Kreme and I felt the magic of the warm glazed doughnut.”
When the Venezuela native returned to Argentina he said he searched for something similar to his doughnut experience, but everything came up short.
“I just didn’t like them,” he said. “So I was like, (screw) it; I’ll do it myself. After trials and repeats I came up with the recipe. That’s the inspiration, it’s Krispy Kreme with a kick.”
Contraras moved to the United States in 2019 and started working at the Raleigh fine dining restaurant Mandolin as a line cook. On the side he continued tinkering with his doughnut recipe and when the pandemic hit and restaurants changed their service models, Mandolin chef and owner Sean Fowler put Contreras’ doughnut on the menu in to-go meal packages.
Contreras believes the distinctiveness of Tepuy’s sourdough doughnuts helped build its following, which now includes 11 cafes around the Triangle, notably Idle Hour Coffee Roasters in Raleigh.
“We didn’t have any fancy doughnuts around, sourdough doughnuts,” Contreras said. “I think it’s the quality and creativity, they’re kind of an upscale experience.”
A few staples include the creme brulee doughnut with a sheen of crispy sugar, and a popular doughnut with a vibrant pink icing, which is sometimes strawberry and sometimes raspberry, but also imbued with the tartness of fresh fruit. Sometimes the flavors play with sweet and savory combinations, like a popular maple bacon, or a filled version, that includes goat cheese pastry creme, a fig glaze and crumbles of crispy prosciutto.
“Doughnuts are very universal, they’re a staple, I think more than cookies or croissants,” Contreras said. “There’s so much you can do with them, there’s no limit.”
Tepuy hopes to open at 2820 Capital Blvd. this summer, eyeing June for its debut. Until then, Contreras continues with weekly deliveries and wholesale drops.
The cafe will include daily doughnuts, plus savory options like pizza rolls and veggie rolls. The full drink menu will eventually include espresso drinks, but initially will be drip coffee, tea and hot chocolate.
Nodding towards his inspiration, Contreras plans to have a walk-up window for hot fresh doughnuts, plus warm chocolate and caramel sauces for dipping.
“There’s nothing like a fresh doughnut,” Contreras said. “You can’t beat that.”