Lovers of fresh doughnuts and coffee have another reason to celebrate in Dracut.
The local, family-owned chain Heav’nly Donuts opened its second Dracut location at 1499 Broadway Road in the same plaza as the new Racewayy Gas & Convenience. It’s the 14th location in all for Heav’nly, which started when George and Elaine Saragas opened their first store in Methuen in 1975.
The Town of Dracut’s Economic Development Department held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for both Heav’nly Donuts and Racewayy on Wednesday, February 2. Racewayy opened on December 10, and Heav’nly Donuts on December 29.
In addition to members of the Saragas extended family, the ceremony was also attended by representatives of the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce, Washington Savings Bank and North Shore 104.9 FM, as well as Dracut Selectmen Chair Alison Genest and Economic Development Committee member Joe DiCarlo.
The first Heav’nly location in Dracut opened in May 2015 at 592 Merrimack Avenue (Route 110). That one proved so popular that when they heard the developer of the Broadway Road (Route 113) site wanted a doughnut and coffee shop to go with the gas station/convenience store, Heav’nly found it too tasty to pass up.
“We like Dracut as a town,” says Christos Kombouras, a co-director for Heav’nly Donuts. “A real-estate broker who’s a friend of mine called and said they got approval for a gas station and a drive-through tenant on Broadway Road. The other Dracut store was doing well and, like Route 110, this road is a good way to get to the highway. So we jumped at it.”
Christos, whose wife, Effie, is the daughter of the George and Elaine Saragas, says he believes the fresh products are what set Heav’nly apart from other shops.
“We use fresh ingredients,” he says. “There are actual bakers who bake the doughnuts and muffins fresh every day. When you order a breakfast sandwich, we crack the egg right there and make the sandwich. Nothing beats that.”
Arthur and Tina Skambas will manage both Dracut locations.
In addition to the two Heav’nly Donuts shops in Dracut, the company has two in Methuen, two in Haverhill, and one each in Lawrence, North Reading, North Andover, Wilmington, Amesbury and Salem, Derry and Brentwood, N.H.