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Celina Daylight Donuts' co-owner Sue Ly fills up a box of doughnuts for a customer during the bakery's grand opening ceremony on Friday afternoon.
CELINA - Intermittent downpours Friday morning couldn't put a damper on the grand opening of Celina Daylight Donuts, an event that brought out local officials and droves of customers looking to satisfy their sweet tooth or power up for the day with the store's line of doughnuts, hot and cold drinks, sandwiches and pastries.
"(The rain) just stopped in time right around eight o'clock for us," said Sokun Ly, who owns the business located at 222 W. Logan St. with his wife, Sue, about the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "I mean, 'Wow' - just perfect timing."
Taking part in the ceremony were the Celina couple's extended family, the Mercer County Commissioners, Celina Mayor Jeff Hazel, Mercer County Community Development Director Jared Ebbing, Celina-Mercer County Chamber of Commerce Director Stacy Beougher and others.
Celina's newest bakery, Daylight Donuts, offers an array of doughnuts, including glazed twists, cinnamon sugar twists, red velvet, cake, pine cones and Long Johns.
Celina Daylight Donuts, Sokun Ly said, is very much a family affair.
"It's nieces and nephews, for the most part, that's helped with customer service, a few friends, but, you know, a lot of smiling faces every morning," Sokun Ly said about his employees, who are up bright and early each morning to execute the store's finely honed recipes to a T.
As Daylight Donuts' local operators, the two are considered licensees who use products and processes of the titular company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Celina Daylight Donuts' owners Sue and Sokun Ly held a grand opening ceremony on Friday afternoon.
Sokun and Sue Ly held a soft opening in late June as their staff were undergoing further training with Daylight Donuts officials on how to precisely make an array of doughnuts, cinnamon rolls, pasties and breakfast sandwiches.
"When we had the boat races, June 19 was when I first started a little soft opening, so that way I kind of get everybody trained, learn the process of how to make doughnuts right, the same way every time," he said. "That just gave us a little cushion between then and Lake Fest, so that way we can better our skills at making doughnuts."
The couple have been gradually ramping up their offerings, getting ever closer to a final, full menu. The arrival of a new smoothie machine this week hastened those efforts.
"Everything falls perfectly with Lake Festival weekend and everything, the (new machine) installed," Sokun Ly said. "We will try to offer our customers what we have, even though it's limited still on our Boba menu, but we will work on a full menu in the coming weeks."
Celina Daylight Donuts, a 2,928-square-foot doughnut shop with a drive-thru and inside dining, launched with a soft opening in late June. The bakery is open seven days a week. The bakery offers many different kinds of doughnuts and pastries, but the No. 1 seller so far is the Long John.
Friday's grand opening gave customers the opportunity to try the newly concocted line of cold menu options - BobaChillers, boba milk tea and smoothies, all available in various flavors such as bursting berry mango and blueberry delight.
Those selections complement a variety of coffee, espresso, Americano, cappuccino, latte and mocha drinks already on the menu.
Sokun Ly emphasized that his staff uses high-quality ingredients in its pastries and drinks, meticulously applied in accordance with Daylight Donuts recipes.
"We have to put the same amount of this ingredient or that ingredient in, so that way we make it the same every time. Even mixing the flour, the water temperature is very critical to how the flour turns out," he said.
Celina's newest bakery, Daylight Donuts, offers an array of doughnuts, including glazed twists, cinnamon sugar twists, red velvet, cake, pine cones and Long Johns.
Much to the surprise of Daylight Donuts officials, the store's No. 1 top selling doughnut so far is the Long John.
"The most popular item that we're selling right now? Surprisingly, Long Johns," he said. "Even the Daylight representative was thinking regular doughnut holes, but Long Johns have been a hit around the area here in Celina. I mean, it surprises them too. They've been doing business a long time but they've never seen Long Johns be such a hit."
Customers have the option of getting their doughnuts and drinks to go through the drive-thru or enjoying them inside at a table. Though open just a month, Celina Daylight Donuts is already seeing its share of regular customers.
"Having feedback from our customers on how the product exceeded their expectations, it brings joy to us," Sokun Ly said. "And we continue to make good products for our customers here, day in and day out."
Celina Daylight Donuts is currently open 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 5 a.m. to noon on Sunday.
Celina's newest bakery, Daylight Donuts, offers an array of doughnuts, including glazed twists, cinnamon sugar twists, red velvet, cake, pine cones and Long Johns.
