Stan's Donuts Bringing the Boom to South Loop and East Lakeview Next

Stan's is bringing its uber-popular doughnuts to two more storefronts soon. Fresh off of its opening at Clark and Diversey last month, owner and bread guru Rich Labriola is planning to open two more Stan's Donuts & Coffees: one in the former Jersey Mike's next to the Roosevelt Red Line stop at 28 E. Roosevelt, and another in a former Caribou Coffee in East Lakeview at 3300 N. Broadway. Look for the 20-seat South Loop location to open next month, while the second Lakeview spot, which holds around 40 seats, should open in the spring, Labriola says. Both will have similar menus to the three existing Stan's.

Less than two years after opening its first Chicago location to much fanfare in Wicker Park, Labriola's partnership with Stan's Donuts in Los Angeles is expanding at an impressive clip. The second location, in the same Northwestern Hospital building that now houses GreenRiver, opened nearly a year ago to the day, while the first Lakeview location opened in early October to lines around the block.

Stan's Wicker Park [Photo: Marc Much]

Labriola feels his booming local doughnut chain is filling a need. "Chicago has such a rich food culture and history, but (it) has never had a doughnut and coffee shop history," he says. "Our mission was to fill that need with the best doughnuts and coffee that money can buy."

With the South Loop and East Lakeview getting Stan's next, Labriola says he doesn't have any other new locations in the works just yet. But at this rate, it may only be a matter of time before he finds more neighborhoods that he feels has a need for his doughnuts and coffee.