Royal Oak, MI — On Thursday, I was scrolling through social media during my lunch break when I happened upon a post from Metro Detroit News that stopped my thumb in its place — so, obviously, it had to involve food! I’m always on the hunt for foodie adventures to new restaurants and eateries, so when I saw that Canadian doughnut bar Mr. Puffs had just debuted its first location in the United States in Royal Oak, I had to go check it out.
Sometimes it takes a few days or even weeks before I can squeeze in a foodie adventure, but I was able to carve out a bit of time right after work to cruise up Woodward Avenue to Normandy Road and visit Mr. Puff’s inaugural US location. I exchanged a few messages with the Mr. Puffs USA Instagram account, and ended up chatting with the business’s founder, Billy Siounis. It turns out, Billy was in town because the Royal Oak location soft-launched on October 26th and has an upcoming Grand Opening on November 5th.
I was excited to head out after work to check out Royal Oak’s newest dessert hub and meet the founder behind an expanding international doughnut business and hear his story. Per usual, after arriving, I snapped a few photos and videos to create a reel teaser for social media to tease ahead of this blog post. I walked in and was quickly greeted by multiple staff members working along the front lines from the register down to doughpuff dressing and packaging. Billy came by and introduced himself and gave me a rundown on the history of Mr. Puffs.
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In 2004, Mr. Puffs was born from the dream of its Greek-born founder, who recently graduated with a degree in hotel management and wanted to launch his own business. Billy had worked for several Greek restaurants, often serving the popular and traditional Greek dough balls, loukoumades. He developed the idea to market the small fried balls of dough, launching a food truck operation. Billy served the traditional style of doughpuffs with honey drizzled over and cinnamon sprinkled over, and about four other common flavors. The key to loukoumades is being served fresh, hot and crispy on the outside, but moist and fluffy on the inside. After introducing more flavors and menu items over the years and developing a system for a brick-and-mortar, Billy opened his first storefront in Montreal in 2010. Mr. Puffs has continued to grow across Canada ever since, with its newest milestone being the expansion into the United States with the Royal Oak location.
Billy gave me a tour of the inside, which was still under very minor renovation, as signage and things were still being placed and posted along the walls. Aside from what was to still be added, the interior was very clean, polished, and easy to take in. The menu screens over the line laid out clearly the various flavors of doughpuffs, while showcasing the other sweet treats at Mr. Puffs like artisanal hot chocolates, milkshakes, Mount Olympians, and Supreme Sundaes. One of the things I found fascinating about the Mr. Puffs process is that the doughnuts are all extremely fresh because the staff whips up fresh batter every 30 minutes — they even have a countdown clock on the wall in the room behind the counters where the mixing goes down. Now that is dedication to the freshness and overall consideration of the final product!
Billy asked his staff to whip a handful of Original Glaze Honey Cinnamon doughnuts so I could try the original loukoumades variation that inspired the business. The shift from crispy exterior to fluffy interior was immediately felt as the thrust of my wooden spork was slowed. I even heard a slight crunch upon initial impact with the glazed surface. There was a very light, balanced sweetness of honey-to-cinnamon ratio, with neither overpowering the other in the overall flavor profile. Both complemented the warm, fried fresh dough ball, which was very light and airy; it was almost as if I was chewing on a lighter form of cotton candy. These doughpuffs were absolutely perfect!
Billy pointed out some key differences between his product and others in the market. He referenced a screen on one of the walls that compared nutritional stats against a competitor, and the numbers indicated that Mr. Puffs was lower in calories, total fat, saturated fat, and sodium. Using a simple base of ingredients, Billy is able to keep his doughpuffs lighter and healthier. When served plain, the doughpuffs are even vegan!
Another cool facet he highlighted was the Free Puffs For Life promo, which is an ongoing giveaway campaign on Instagram. Basically, every milestone unlocked means anyone who has entered will get free puffs for life from Mr. Puffs. To enter, you have to follow Mr. Puffs USA on Instagram, like the official giveaway post, and tag three friends.
REVIEW
I placed a personal order for a dozen, splitting the flavors between Cinnapuffs and Cheesecake. I thanked Billy and his staff for their kindness and hospitality, then drove south along Woodward Avenue back home. I was eager to take a bite of the suped-up doughpuffs, whose heavenly scents emanated from the box nestled safely next to me in the passenger seat. After getting back to my apartment, I ripped open the lid and quickly snapped a few photos and video since the phone always eats first, then cracked into a warm and gooey Cinnapuff.
The Cinnapuff had the same exterior and interior dynamic, which was flawless execution on that delivery from doughpuff to doughpuff. The icing and cinnamon combo from the beloved classic cinnamon roll is a perfect duo for any form of pastry, and these doughpuffs were no exception. The doughnuts were still very warm, especially on the fluffy interior. I took a bite from one of the Cheesecake puffs and noticed a sweeter flavor, likely propelled by the strawberry jelly. I really enjoyed the extra crunch of the graham cracker flakes as a garnish and finishing touch. Another very sweet, soft, and warm/gooey delicious dough ball delivery.
I really enjoyed the two-bite doughpuffs, and I’m grateful that I got to meet the founder of the entire enterprise! Mr. Puffs has established a powerhouse doughpuff system for freshness and has developed quite the tasty and perfect treats for a quick bite or something more fun and satisfying for those sweet tooths. It’s great to see what Billy and his team are building, and even more wonderful to see them bring Mr. Puffs to the United States, with its first location being in Metro Detroit! Run, don’t walk, to check them out, or stop by on November 5th for their Grand Opening celebration!
For more information about Mr. Puffs, click here. To learn more about the Royal Oak location and U.S. expansion, click here.
