Beef tallow and blueberry: New Donut shop puts down roots

Beef tallow and blueberry: New Donut shop puts down roots

“They’ll get in their car and open up the box, take a bite, and then look back at us with a big smile and give us a big thumbs up.”

That’s one of the best reactions Michelle King gets from customers as they drive off from Idaho Donut Company food truck, sinking their teeth into one of her cake donuts.

And now, King’s mobile donut biz is parking for good. Idaho Donut Company will soon open at 313 Isaiah Way in Caldwell, in the former Ruszoni’s pizza shop.

A family affair

King unexpectedly got into the donut business after her mother passed away from a long battle with cancer. After 51 years of marriage, King’s father was devastated.

“I thought I was going to lose him too. He just didn’t have any joy left. And I had mentioned one day, I said, ‘Hey, Dad, didn’t you always want to own a donut shop?’ And his eyes lit up,” King said.

King said her father began researching what it would take to run a donut shop, and she began to see the light come back in his eyes. Not a chef herself, King recruited her daughter as chief donut baker. In August 2025, the Idaho Donut Company food truck was born.

Beef tallow & blueberry

Idaho Donut Company specializes in cake donuts — more dense than a yeast donut with a slightly crisp outside — fried in 100% wagyu beef tallow from Snake River Farms.

“The tallow lets them stay crispy on the outside, but really soft and moist on the inside,” King said.

Along with creating the perfect texture, King says her frying method is cleaner than many other donut shops, and is easier on customer’s stomachs.

“We have a one‑ingredient frying oil, which is tallow. Because we don’t have all the hydrogenated oils, palm oils, and seed oils, a lot of people tell us that our donuts are the only ones they can eat without their stomachs getting upset,” King said.

King says her blueberry glaze donuts are her best seller, but customers also go crazy for the vanilla cake, chocolate cake, and old-fashioned varieties. She also does seasonal flavors like pumpkin spice.

The new space

With a new space, comes a new menu.

“Right now we’re kind of limited by the space in the food truck, so that’s kind of holding us back a little bit on what we can offer,” King said.

The brick-and-mortar location will allow Idaho Donut Company to expand its offerings. Customers can still expect all the donut varieties that were available at the food truck, along with several yeast donut options, muffins, cookies, banana bread, ice cream donut desserts, and savory ham and cheese croissants.

King leased the new building just recently and says it will take a few months to convert the former pizza operation into a donut one.

She hopes to open by the beginning of 2027.

What started as a way to bring a little joy back to King’s father has now become a growing business, bringing smiles to customers one donut at a time.