A highly anticipated new doughnut shop is coming to Dallas this week: La Rue Doughnuts will open in Trinity Groves on Aug. 29, taking over the space formerly occupied by Cake Bar, which relocated to the Medical District in March.
La Rue comes from acclaimed chef duo Casey La Rue and Amy La Rue, who previously ran Carte Blanche, the award-winning restaurant-bakery on Greenville Avenue that closed in June.
The Carte Blanche bakery offered a variety of pastries, including croissants, but La Rue Doughnuts, as the name suggests, specializes in doughnuts. They have converted the doughnuts made at the old bakery into a doughnut specialty store, and offer a variety of styles, including brioche, cake doughnuts, old fashioneds, and specialty crullers.
While most donut shops in DFW (and the US as a whole) make their donuts with pre-made flour mixes, La Rue makes all of their donut dough by hand. From Scratch.
And historically, this couple's donuts Unusual taste Passion fruit and pistachio.
Both chefs Highly decorated People who are dedicated to donuts seem to be promising that these donuts will be special, unique and above average.
After just three years in business, the restaurant and bakery have won numerous awards, including the Forbes Texas Five-Star award for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023. It's the only Dallas restaurant to ever receive the prestigious Five Diamond award from AAA, and it certainly would have won if it had stayed open until Michelin stepped in. (The doughnut shop, along with other bakeries, may be eligible for Michelin's Bib Gourmand category, awarded to restaurants that offer delicious food at affordable prices.)
But the idea that a place called The Donut Shop could specialize in donuts seems incomprehensible to some saddened fans, whose every Instagram post pathetically provokes a small chorus of similar whining.
Are you going to make croissants??
Croissants are a separate category of bread making, requiring different equipment, ingredients and processes to laminate the dough, which is why most donut shops don't carry them.
Maybe people's complaints are a sign of just how good Carte Blanche's croissants were, or maybe people just love venting their frustrations on social media.
After numerous polite replies saying, “Sorry, we don't sell croissants,” La Rue Donuts finally posted a photo of a croissant with the prohibition sign on it on its Instagram page, along with the following explanation:
La Roux Donuts Glazed DonutsLa Rue
“I've been asked a few questions recently about La Rue Doughnuts, and I thought it was understood, but just to be sure: we do not serve croissants. We are deeply steeped in our love of doughnuts – celebrating their rich history, endless variety and everything that makes them truly special. We shine the spotlight solely on our doughnuts and the delicious stories they tell.”
Let's take a look at the comments (most of which are from accounts marked as private. Is there any correlation between private Instagram accounts and people complaining?):
- auntanton: “Please make more almond croissants”
- “So… a cronut?”
- prissy_annn “I'm gonna miss those beautiful delicious croissants”
- danalilys: “Please, please…”
- itsvalerie.notval “Please let me know if your delicious croissants will be on the menu.”
The account antoinebaba, which is set to private, expresses his displeasure with the croissant situation in nearly every post from the store: “I want the croissants back, please.” Antoine Baby, walk down Greenville Avenue to Village Patisserie and get a croissant there. I recommend the pretzel croissant. It's the best.
Some commenters get it:
- youspoonam: “This made me laugh out loud. #croissantban No cronuts or other super trendy croissants. Just kidding. Glad they stuck to the old fashioned donut. @larue_doughnuts”
- blume_bakery “This conversion is amazing! I can't wait to see the new space.”
Hours of operation are Sunday 8 AM to 2 PM or until sold out, Wednesday to Thursday 7 AM to 2 PM or until sold out, and Friday to Saturday 8 AM to 8 PM.