Pegasus Coffee, a 42-year old specialty coffee roaster and retailer based in Bainbridge Island, has acquired Dude’s Donuts of Port Orchard, a specialty wholesale bakery offering 100% plant-based, gluten-free cake donuts.

Pegasus first began selling Dude’s Donuts at its original Coffee House on Bainbridge last February, and discussions to acquire Dude’s Donuts began in October.

Matt Grady, principal owner of Pegasus Coffee, said, “Dude’s Donuts’ focus on small-batch production, the highest-quality ingredients, and quality of life for their customers and suppliers is 100% consistent with our approach to coffee.”

The acquisition of Dude’s Donuts enables Pegasus Coffee to broaden its menu. Pegasus can now offer freshly roasted whole bean coffee, cold brewed coffee on tap and freshly baked donuts to cafes, restaurants, bakeries and other outlets that want to feature artisanal, small-batch, locally made food and beverages.

It also moves Pegasus into the fast-growing plant-based and health and wellness markets. Plant-based, gluten-free baked goods are in high-demand, especially for customers with allergies or other dietary restrictions, but also for a broader population of consumers seeking clean-label, non- or minimally processed foods made with organic, locally sourced ingredients.

“Our goal is to keep the Dude’s Donuts product as artisanal, delicious and fun as it has been, while strengthening its operating processes to make the business scalable,” Grady said. “We are thrilled to be the stewards of the incredible recipes and reputation that Easton and Amanda have built over the past two years. We’ve gone to great lengths to learn their baking process end-to-end so we can continue to make delicious plant-based, gluten-free donuts that bring such joy to customers. We intend to make Easton proud that he has entrusted his wonderful baking business to us.”

Dude’s Donuts was founded in 2019 by the husband-wife team of Easton and Amanda Shepard, Dude’s Donuts is a wholesale bakery based out of Port Orchard, WA offering gluten-free, vegan donuts. Dude’s Donuts began selling at local farmers markets in Bremerton, Port Orchard and Silverdale in the summer of 2019. It then branched out to wholesale and presale orders, selling the donuts online for pickup in different locations around Kitsap and Pierce counties once per week.

Originally founded in 1979 by David Dessinger, Pegasus Coffee Co. is a premier coffee brand from Bainbridge Island. In 1983, Pegasus Coffee opened in the Dexter Horton Building and was the first specialty coffee bar in downtown Seattle. Pegasus also has a coffee bar at the Seattle Tower and has a mobile, pop-up trailer that serves as a cafe.