Dochi, maker of fine Japanese mochi donuts, is opening a shop in Mills 50

Those of you who went cuckoo when Dochi opened on the second floor of East End Market back in February, prepare to lose your minds. The shop specializing in mochi donuts will open a permanent space in Mills 50 and, get this, they’re aiming for a Valentine’s Day opening.

(SWOOOOOOOOOON)

Dochi will take over the old Qùynh Dao Perfect Cakes space at 1222 E. Colonial Drive, across the street from Poke Hana and Mamak Asian Street Food.

The concept, founded by longtime buds Jason Le and Frank Phan, began as a pop-up prior to their second-floor, Thursday-Sunday operation at East End Market. Le and Phan teamed up with local restaurateurs Johnny and Jimmy Tung of Omei Restaurant Group to open the Mills 50 shop.

For the uninitiated, Dochi’s donuts are made from glutinous Japanese rice flour (which lend to their sublime crispy-chewy texture) and come in such flavors as Ube Glaze, Taro Pebbles, Fererro Rocher and the Japanese-inspired Matcha Oreo. Dochi even collaborated with Hinckley’s Fancy Meats to create the Maple Bacon Glaze, a limited-edition flavor.

The Mills 50 location will be open seven days a week and offer house-brewed coffee in which to dunk those pliable buggers. And fear not, all you Audubon Parkers: The East End Market location will remain open, says Tung. “For now.”

Dochi currently has three other locations — two in Seattle and one opening soon in Denver — but the Orlando shops, they claim, are the only ones in the Southeast that offer mochi donuts. Dochi will open a location in the Jacksonville Town Center this summer, with plans to expand to Tampa and South Florida next.

“What drives us is the reaction we get from someone opening a Dochi box and seeing those delicious, colorful donuts for the first time,” says Phan.

“That makes it all worth it.”

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This article appears in Jan 20-26, 2021.