Located in the heart of downtown Elkins, you’ll find a polka-dotted piano underneath a giant sprinkled donut and a set of old wooden doors. Inside are yellow-painted walls and a selection of donuts that the owner claims are “the best donuts you’ve ever tasted.”
Byrd’s House of Donuts was started by Issac Thomas Byrd, Sr. (Tommy), and his son, Issac Thomas Byrd, Jr. (Thomas), in 2016. After a long standing career in the woodworking industry and fast-food management, the father-son duo turned to donuts, though neither had ever made one.
An entrepreneur at heart, Tommy abided his time waiting for the right opportunity to own a business. After several openings and closings of the original donut shop in Elkins, Tommy saw a “For Rent” sign in the window. After agreeing to rent the storefront and purchase the remaining equipment, Byrd’s House of Donuts was born.
The business seemed to grow overnight, forcing Tommy to go full-time after a few short months. The following year, the father-son duo moved downtown, where the shop remains today.
Although donuts are still the shop’s main product, they have expanded to include scratch-made custom cakes, pies, cookies, candies, pastries, sweet rolls and almost any other sweet treat you could think of.
Byrd’s offers a donut for every occasion, including their top seller, Original Glaze, Boston Cream, Coconut Cream Pie and German Chocolate Cake, as well as seasonal favorites like Pumpkin Cake, Pumpkin Cream Filled, Cranberry Jelly and Gingerbread Cake.
The shop has also added hot and cold lunch sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches, all-beef hotdogs with homemade chili and award-winning pepperoni rolls.
Tommy and Thomas have become town favorites, with travelers journeying as far as Virginia and Kentucky to get a few dozen of their donuts. They hope to expand the business to multiple locations throughout West Virginia in the coming years.
If you’d like to keep up with the Byrds and Byrd’s House of Donuts, you can visit www.byrdshouseofdonuts.webs.com.
Listen to the full podcast here: https://positivelywv.com/podcast/episode-197-tommy-byrd-byrds-house-of-donuts/
PWV QUICK BITS | TOMMY BYRD
- PIECE OF ADVICE: “Start with an idea that you’re all in on,” advised Byrd.