‘The good stuff’s always here’: Duck Donuts opens 4th KC-area shop. Here’s where
Duck Donuts’ tasty made-to-order offerings have arrived in Lee’s Summit.
The brand’s fourth donut shop in the Kansas City metro opened this month in a storefront at 19 SE Third Street in downtown Lee’s Summit.
“I think anybody that’s been to downtown Lee Summit can attest, it is possibly one of the best places in Kansas City,” said Ryan McNeil, who owns the store with his wife, Katie McNeil. “There’s so much going on, there’s so many restaurants and bars and shops and exciting street festivals going on, the new farmers market. There’s just so much going on down here.
“When we saw an opportunity to come down here, we definitely jumped all over it, because we just love what’s going on here. We love being a part of this neighborhood.”
From the shop’s first day, the location had plenty of interest, McNeil said.
“Lee’s Summit’s been so receptive,” he said. “Our day one, we didn’t even really promote it. We just opened the doors, just to basically give everyone some practice time and just work through slowly, but they came in, in force. They were so excited.”
For those unfamiliar with the brand’s offerings, Duck Donuts locations don’t pile up cases full of donuts like traditional donut shops. Instead, they’ll take orders, fry up donuts in a couple of minutes, get them topped and hand them over warm and ready to eat.
“The old school donut shops — which we love, I love many things that an old school donut shop provides — but the one thing that we always ran into is if you don’t get there early enough, the good stuff’s gone sometimes, right?” McNeil said. “What we love about this concept is the good stuff’s always here. You don’t have to worry about sleeping in.”
The shop serves up fancy offerings like maple bacon, blueberry pancake or s’mores donuts or more traditional stylings like glazed or powdered sugar donuts. For those seeking a little more, the store offers donut-topped milkshakes, donut ice cream sandwiches, donut sundaes and donut breakfast sandwiches.
The Lee’s Summit shop will be the brand’s 239th location, McNeil said. The McNeils are also behind Duck Donuts locations in Leawood and Prairie Village and have plans for another location in Olathe. Another ownership group runs a location in the Northland.
“There’s a lot of great markets around Kansas City that would love this,” McNeil said. “The Wichitas and Omahas, Columbia, Lawrence, Springfield, all these great, great towns that I know, working with our partners at Duck Donuts, they’re really excited about this region of the country.
“There’s a lot of development going on, a lot of people coming here, because it’s a great place to live, and there’s a lot of great opportunities now. Definitely identified as a big growth market for this brand.”
