Donut Friend - Highland Park - Dessert, Ice Cream, Coffee & More
Donut shop · Highland Park ·
Vegan donuts with creative flavors, fillings, and toppings.
Vegan donuts with creative flavors, fillings, and toppings.
"The donuts from this all-vegan shop with locations in Highland Park, DTLA, and Silver Lake are what a car salesman would describe as fully loaded: piled with fillings and toppings. There's everything from coffee-infused cake donuts to the "Green Teagan And Sara," which comes with matcha tea glaze, toasted black sesame seeds, and raspberry dust. Even if you're not set on ordering plant-based treats, these donuts can hold their own with the city's best. " - nikko duren, brant cox, sylvio martins
"Donut lovers paradise. There are so many amazing unique flavors, and you can customize your donut. Fill it with jam, chocolate, or ice cream. The options here are endless. It's also all vegan by the way :)" - Friend of a Friend
"The donuts from this all-vegan shop on York Blvd. are what a car salesman would describe as fully loaded: piled with fillings and toppings. There's everything from coffee-infused cake donuts to the "Green Teagan And Sara," which comes with matcha tea glaze, toasted black sesame seeds, and raspberry dust. These are some of our favorite (plant-based) donuts in LA." - brant cox, nikko duren, garrett snyder, sylvio martins
"Donut Friend, Highland Park. Donut lovers paradise. There are so many amazing unique flavors, and you can customize your donut. Fill it with jam, chocolate, or ice cream. The options here are endless. It's also all vegan by the way :)"
"I've followed the controversy around Donut Friend, the vegan doughnut shop with Highland Park (York Boulevard) and Downtown Los Angeles locations: an anonymous tweet by @ElSangito accused the company of firing multiple workers “for trying to unionize,” sparking a viral boycott, but current and former employees and owner Mark Trombino say that claim is false. Former employee Flynn Nicholls, who was let go on January 17, says the tweet is technically inaccurate though he supports the messaging; workers acknowledge valid workplace concerns and are planning a formal union push even though no paperwork has yet been submitted. Staff point to a September 2020 letter signed “The united staff of Donut Friend” demanding clearer communication and safer COVID protocols, and say that after the letter several signatories were later fired or suspended (two in October, another in January, plus a suspension), which organizers view as suspicious and potentially retaliatory; Trombino denies union-busting, says one staffer was fired “for cause,” and admits he has not always communicated as well as he could. Management introduced one-on-one meetings, suggestion boxes, and town-hall discussions, but some employees felt those moves were anti-labor and that disciplinary action increased; the Downtown location also had a COVID-positive staff member that prompted a shutdown initially described as “for repairs” before pressure forced disclosure and revealed an email blaming staff for not social distancing. Workers emphasize that any boycott should be an organized group decision, that they have set up social media accounts for their efforts, and that the healthiest next step is direct, honest, offline engagement with ownership about communication and safety; Trombino says he would explore union recognition if staff pursue it, and both sides say improved face-to-face dialogue is needed." - Farley Elliott
