You might not expect a Cincinnati bakery that started during the Great Depression to create a trendy OTR destination, but CEO Dan Busken has brought his donuts to the Gateway Quarter in the form of an artistic pop-up shop.
With the help of local design and marketing agency PB+J, Busken Bakery is temporarily (hence, “pop-up”) using the Cincy Haus to launch their new, 140 calorie donut deemed: “Lite-Hearted.” As a promotion for the new donuts, Busken will be giving away free ones Thursday 7pm-12pm; Friday and Saturday from 7pm-1am until March 16th at 1218 Vine St. between A Tavola and Sloane Boutique
American Legacy Tours -Cincy Haus’ normal tenants- are in hibernation for the winter months.
The Lite-Hearted donut is being touted as a healthier alternative to the traditional donuts we have come to love/loathe. Lite-Hearted donuts have 140 calories and 2.5g of fat compared to 300 and 16g, respectively, when compared to their sticky predecessors. Dan stops short of calling his newest invention a health food and does not expect anybody to eat a dozen of them at a time, but he hopes that a donut which tastes the same or better than a traditional donut (it does) and is considerate of your health can become something you enjoy regularly without feeling bad about it.
A “Candy-Striper” with Busken’s Lite-Hearted donuts
You may wonder what a local bakery is doing in the same space as the limbs of manikins and grainy television screens. To answer that question, Dan pointed to the traditional, boring advertising that many companies in his industry partake in. When Dan took over Busken Bakery 9 years ago from his father, he lured his brother Brian to join him and promised that their advertising would be something different.
In that time, Dan and Brian have taken an aggressive approach towards branding and marketing, departing from traditional billboards and print ads and moving towards more experiential forms of reaching people including giving away 10,000 donuts at 2011′s Midpoint Music Festival.
Visitors can record 10 seconds of video and watch it played back. All videos will be complied and put on Busken’s YouTube Channel
Dan views projects like this as an exciting way to reach an urban crowd and appreciates Over the Rhine as a perfect place to launch something new. We couldn’t agree more.
Stop in and visit for dessert after dinner or as a late night snack as you stumble home. At least, with Lite-Hearted donuts, you will be able to wake up in the morning with one less regret.
All photos supplied by PB+J
Pop-Up Information:
Thursdays 7pm-12pm
Friday, Saturday: 7pm-1am
Ends March 16th
Dan Busken, CEO and his Lite-Hearted Donuts
