A doughnut shop will be opening this fall in Franklin, marking more downtown revitalization for the city.
Visitors and residents who are walking in downtown Franklin can stop by Jack’s Donuts to grab a tiger tail or blueberry cake doughnut at the location that is tucked into a shopping center west of the courthouse square off Jefferson Street.
The owners of the franchise doughnut shop specifically chose downtown Franklin to open their third location because of the reputation of the downtown and they wanted in on the city’s revitalization.
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“We love Franklin, Franklin is so booming,” said Paul Ganote, owner of Jack’s Donuts in Franklin.
An assortment of cafes, bars, restaurants and shops have enveloped downtown Franklin in the last few years as city leaders have invested in infrastructure and incentives to encourage the growth. More restaurants, cafes and entertainment options are planned for the area.
People can grab a pastry or mimosa at Main and Madison, try duck pin bowling at Ten Pins or have a drink at The Mint. An event center, The Garment Factory, has opened. The city’s former post office and city hall has been converted into a restaurant and another coffeehouse is planned for the courthouse square. Downtown Franklin will also be the site of the county’s tourism center, opening next year.
Jack’s Donuts is expected to open Oct. 1 and will eventually neighbor an amphitheater that is being developed and built downtown.
The development is positive and shows that businesses are looking at downtown Franklin as viable options for their businesses, Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett said.
Residents and visitors to Franklin have several options to buy pastries and other breakfast foods downtown. However, Jack’s Donuts would be the only shop in Franklin that strictly serves doughnuts, Barnett said.
The shop will also bring jobs and increases the quality of life of Franklin residents as an improved amenity downtown. Downtown Franklin looks vastly different now than it did five or 10 years ago, he said.
“Now it just shows that the traffic has picked up and there are more stores,” Barnett said.
Ganote and others involved in Jack’s Donuts in Franklin had originally considered a location two miles west of downtown Franklin. But downtown lured them in, Ganote said.
“Every person I have met in downtown Franklin, I actually just love them,” he said. “I actually wanted the downtown area more than ever.”
Jack’s Donuts is a franchise doughnut shop that has dozens of shops across Indiana. The corporate headquarters is in New Castle and the Ganotes own two other Jack’s Donut franchises in Brownsburg and on the southside off Southport Road. There is a Jack’s Donut shop in Greenwood.
The Ganotes opened their shops after Paul Ganote finished a career as an elevator technician. He was inspired by his favorite doughnut shops, Long’s Bakery, with locations in Southport and on the west side of Indianapolis, and Hilligoss Bakery in Brownsburg.
“I am a morning person and I love people and I just love to go out and meet the people,” Ganote said.
Most of the shops across Indiana open at 5 a.m. and are open all day into the evening. The most popular donuts in the shop include the tiger tail, which is a yeast doughnut twisted with another doughnut to resemble a tiger’s tail, and the blueberry cake doughnut, Ganote said.
The shop space has been a clothing consignment shop and an antique shop in recent years. The ample parking at the site and the walkability of the building to everything in downtown Franklin helped seal the location pick for the family. The location was picked about two months ago, Ganote said.
“We will complement the downtown area, just like the downtown area complements us,” he said.
