Cult-favorite JoCo doughnut shop is back — this time with the original recipe
When Eric and Christina Benson opened the doors to Fluffy Fresh Donuts, 5729 Johnson Drive, in Mission at 5 Thursday morning, they were not expecting to sell out so quickly. By 7:30 a.m., their shelves were empty.
“Everyone’s looking for handmade stuff, and you don’t see that much anymore. Everything’s automated,” said Kyle Conroy, a friend of the Bensons and longtime customer of the original Fluffy Fresh Donuts.
The previous owner, Jim Hollinger, inherited the family business started by his father in the 1900s. At its peak, there were several locations around Kansas City, according to Conroy. Hollinger, now 75, retired for health reason last summer and sold the business the last location to Holy Moly, a Topeka-based doughnut shop. That business failed after a few months because the locals were so loyal to Jim’s recipe, according to several customers.
“The really attractive thing with Fluffy Fresh was Jim was here every day and Anne was here every day. It was the same process. He was making everything by hand. He had a level of consistency that is hard to find.”
Though there is another doughnut shop with the same name on State Line Road, they are different, customers say. That Fluffy Fresh Donuts was originally another location, but the shop is no longer affiliated and has since changed the recipe.
It’s the original family recipe that Hollinger shared with the Bensons, even teaching Christina Benson how he made them.
“He seemed very willing to share his recipes and help us out,” she said. “It’s carrying on his legacy, and that’s what we want to do. We want to be a part of that. He built something really special.”
Christina Benson is no stranger to baking. She ran a wedding cake business out of their home for years and spent time making sourdough from scratch, which she said has been the most beneficial skill coming into doughnut making.
“It’s all about the yeast and the dough,” she said.
The Bensons opened Fluffly Fresh Donuts less than a month after acquiring the storefront and credit their friend Conroy, who alerted them the shop was back on the market.
“(Conroy) was one who brought us to this because I’m from the area, but I’m not from this specific spot,” Eric Benson said. “He was like, ‘Your wife is great baker, you could run a business.’”
So Eric Benson left his full-time job as a manager for liquor brands and spent the last few weeks learning how to price their donuts.
“I did the pricing analysis for every donut shop I could find in Kansas City that had pricing online and I made sure that we were cheaper than the bigger chains on certain things,” he said, adding examples like having cheaper donut holes than Dunkin and cheaper donuts than Krispy Kreme.
“I’m not here to like to get rich, but (Hollinger) had a legacy, I mean, it’s a cult following,” Eric Benson said.
In that time, Christina Benson went about learning how to make Hollinger’s donuts. She learned how to use the large kitchen equipment and basic process from previous owners, Holy Moly, but was taught by Jim his family recipe and his tricks in the kitchen.
Getting back to the original recipe was very important to the Bensons, who at that point were unaware of the cult following and how many customers had been patronizing the business for decades.
“He met with us once, and showed us how to make the yeast donuts, and then we talked to him about it again, and he came back, and he did all the cake donuts with me. It was kind of a slow sort of thing, the building of the relationship,” she said.
In fact, Hollinger came in Wednesday night to help Christina Benson with baking, so those who were lucky enough to snag donuts opening day got ones with his special touch. Christina Benson mostly did the baking, and Jim handled the fryer and oversaw the process.
“Jim came by surprised us last night, he was like, knocking on the door at 9 o’clock. And I didn’t know, I had my AirPods in so I didn’t hear, and so he was like, ‘Christina, I’m here,’“ she said. “It was just so sweet, he’s like, ‘I just wanted to come help make donuts.’”
One of the things that makes the original recipe different from other donut shops in the area is how the dough is made. It’s all mixed by hand, according to Christina Benson, whereas other shops use large standing mixers.
“(Hollinger’s) were kind of that balance between fluffy and not overly sugary that you kind of felt gross afterward. They’re fluffy (in) consistency, but they also had really light cake donuts too,” Conroy said.
Coming out of the shop Thursday morning, Conroy said he felt like he got his vice back.
“It feels very, very satisfying,” he said. “More than anything. It’s just comfort food.”
Though he is now retired, the Bensons said Hollinger is welcome in the kitchen any time for as long as he is willing.
“He’s been doing this for his entire life, working in a donut shop. All of this is so second nature to him,” Christina Benson said.
After their soft opening Wednesday, someone left a letter in the front door. Inside was an illustration of Fluffy Fresh Donuts. The Bensons framed it and put it on the wall.
“ I guess she made this when she was in middle school, and she wanted to show us, and so I put it in a frame, and she came in today and I told her I put her thing in a frame, and she freaked out,” Christina Benson said.
Fluffy Fresh Donuts range from $1.90 or $3.25. Fans of the original fluffy donut (by far the fan favorite, according to Christina Benson) ranges between $5.50 for three and $19.50 for 12. There is also the option to buy donut holes and assorted packs of donuts.
As of now, Fluffy Fresh Donuts are cash only, and the sales tax is included in the price. It’s open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 10 a.m. or sellout.
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 5:02 PM.
