After successfully launching his artisan donut pop-up store in Southborough’s The Vin Bin, Michael Lombardi is expanding the concept to include a full store at Price Chopper Plaza on South Street in Hopkinton.
Piggybacking off the twenty-year success of his father Rick Lombardi’s family business, Michael opened The Donut Stand inside the Southboro location in 2021. Between word of mouth and viral social media posts, The Donut Stand quickly found lines wrapping around the Southborough location before the store’s doors even opened. Many days, the donuts are sold out within hours.
The effort was so successful that Michael took the temporary pop-up idea on the road to multiple Metrowest locations, always selling out and creating demand.
The Lombardis are looking to bring the same magic to their new permanent location in Hopkinton, just in time for the Super Bowl.
Rick Lombardi says his son Micahel has been the mastermind behind the food in their family business since the beginning, having created the award-winning sandwich menu in the Southborough and Marlborough cafes.
After working at The Vin Bin through high school, Michael’s interest in food took him to culinary school at Johnson and Wales and beyond. His father Rick explained his son was “working in some of the best restaurants in the country – Chez Panisse in Berkeley and Oleana in Boston.”
While gaining lessons from culinary pioneers, Michael met his future wife Hannah, also a classically trained chef. Today, Hannah Lombardi helps at The Vin Bin and works behind the scenes.
“I have basically been involved since it began, in the creative process,” Hannah said.
While she is not involved in the daily baking of the donuts, she helps with the “flavors, garnishes, and the ideas behind everything.”
Everyone pitches in, even the couple’s three children. Their oldest daughter Penny, age six, is the “official donut taster,” taking feedback from her younger brothers Tony and Lou. According to Hannah, they all “love a good donut.”
On any given day you might see all three generations of Lombardis working in the family businesses. Even the larger family played a role in choosing Hopkinton as the permanent kitchen and storefront for The Donut Stand. Michael’s sister lives in Hopkinton and her husband’s entire family lives in town.
“Timing was everything”, said Michael. Now that the former Bison Burger location closed, The Donut Stand is expanding into the vacated space beside The Vin Bin. The Lombardis appreciate the support they have already received in Hopkinton.
“I think we’re bringing in a product that’s a community-supporting product, not a franchise or chain-type restaurant,” Michael said.
Community is a key ingredient in what sets The Donut Stand apart, according to him.
“Sourcing local ingredients to us means a lot for the flavor and freshness of the product. We just use the best we can find.”
The Lombardis work with local dairy, egg, meat, fruit even paper and plastic companies to create the highest quality hand-crafted product possible.
The Donut Stand menu features an ever-changing list of high-end ingredients like Callebaut chocolate and Luxardo cherries. Michael hopes the attention to every detail comes through in the taste of every donut.
“We don’t mess with it. We keep it simple. When you eat [one of our donuts] you think, this is good. This is fresh. It doesn’t come out of a tub,” Michael said.
The Lombardi family agreed everyone in Hopkinton has been supportive in the process, including other local artisan food businesses like Blue Square Pizza and Snappy Dogs, who have offered advice and approval.
Beyond the food community in town, Michael said he looks forward to getting involved with the Boston Marathon in April and working with the highly-rated Hopkinton school system as well.
“We’re a small family business. We’re community and family-oriented, and that’s what we’re hoping to bring to Hopkinton.”
Speaking in Southborough’s The Vin Bin, Michael said, “We’ve had a lot of Hopkinton residents come in here.”
“It’s nice when you know they’re showing interest, saying ‘We’ve heard you’re coming and we wanted to try you out and we’re really excited.’ Hopkinton is really a great community.”
