Donut chain to make Florida debut in region

MANATEE COUNTY — A national donut chain will make its Florida debut with a store in east Manatee County.

The donut chain, Houston-based Shipley Do-Nuts, will be one part of a 5,104-square-foot building on State Road 70, in a parcel in front of Manatee Technical College and Braden River High School. Another part of the building will be a new restaurant concept Boneyard BBQ, according to a press release.

The property, about a mile west of Interstate 75, will also eventually include a Superior Auto Repair and a Zaxby's, a fast casual chicken-centric chain, according to a statement.

Shipley Do-Nuts has nearly 300 locations in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. It offers more than 60 varieties of donuts, kolaches and breakfast rolls made fresh daily and served hot.

“Shipley has strict requirements for their brand, and we also really wanted to shine the perfect light on the first Shipley location in Florida,” says Linda Somellan, who, with her husband, Carlos, will open the first Shipley Do-Nuts franchise in the state, according to the statement. “We were looking for a location that's popular with families, has good traffic flow and the right demographics, and has growth potential. This location has all that and more.”

Boneyard BBQ will be a full-table service restaurant, be able to accommodate up to 130 people. It will serve beer and wine, and will offer takeout and catering services. Todd Keller, owner-operator of Boneyard BBQ, recently sold three Keller's Bar-B-Q locations in Central Florida to move closer to family in the region.

“When we came across this site we thought it would be a homerun,” says Keller in the release. “It fit everything we wanted. We were looking for a freestanding building off the interstate, and we like to get our foot in the door in a boom area. This area is only going to get better and better.”

The Somellans plan to open Shipley Do-Nuts late this year, and Keller anticipates opening Boneyard BBQ by January. The Starling Group is handling construction of the property. Matt Morris with Morris Engineering is the civil engineer on the project.

Matt Kezar of Ian Black Real Estate represented the landlord, SRQJM LLC, in the lease transactions. Steve Horn with Ian Black Real Estate represented both tenants. Ian Black Real Estate will also handle property management.