Parlor Doughnuts Plans New Flagship Location in Evansville, IN

The amount of growth Evansville's Parlor Doughnuts has seen since opening its first store back in 2019 is nothing short of amazing. I have to think that even the creators of Parlor Doughnuts didn't expect it to take off as it has. Their unique, layered doughnuts were an instant hit and helped Parlor expand from two locations in Evansville to more than 30 locations in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

Parlor now has plans to open its flagship location in the same spot where it all got started - downtown Evansville.

The location isn't "exactly" where it all started, but it is just a couple of blocks away. Parlor is in the process of renovating the historic Bitterman building located on the corner of 2nd and Main Street. Evansville 411 News shared an update on their Facebook page along with a rendering of what the building may end up looking like.

Lamar Architecture & Design

Renovation work has officially started on the ground-floor spaces at 200 and 202-204 Main Street in Downtown Evansville. Parlor plans to renovate the historic Bitterman building and hopes to have the new location open in 2023.
According to Parlor Doughnuts' original announcement in 2020, “The goal is to create a space for downtown that will serve the community as a gathering place for meetings, events, and socializing. With the enormous space, there will be an expanded dine-in option, coffee roasting onsite, grab-and-go breakfast items, including acai bowls, sandwiches, avocado toast, and more!”

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For the most part, the early feedback online seems to be positive. Many folks are excited to have Parlor Doughnuts coming back downtown and are glad to see something being done with the beautiful Bitterman building. Of course, there are some negative comments too, but that is to be expected from anything and everything shared on social media.

See How Downtown Evansville Has Changed Over the Years

I find looking back on the way things used to be fascinating. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'm living through the current time period. The conveniences of answering any question we have in seconds, or ordering practically anything we want or need and having it delivered to our doorstep is pretty sweet. But, there is something fun about seeing how things around us have evolved. As an Evansville native, and spending quite a bit of my time in downtown Evansville (that's where the station is located), I've always appreciated the older architecture of the buildings around the area. So, I dug into the Willard Library Archives to see how a few of those areas look now compared to then. Some have changed a little, others quite a bit, and a few don't even exist any more. Take a look.