Voodoo Doughnuts Too is located on Sandy Boulevard and Davis Avenue
By Jessie Hethcoat
The minute you step into Voodoo Doughnuts downtown on Third Avenue and Burnside Street, it's clear you're in no ordinary doughnut shop.
The walls are covered in eclectic, strange and somewhat morbid art. Hip-hop music and the aroma of freshly fried doughnuts fill the air. The name itself indicates that the menu is likely to have more than just old-fashioned and glazed doughnuts.
In fact, Voodoo Doughnuts is anything but old fashioned. For the most part, it's something Portlanders of all kinds have grown to know and love.
However, many Portlanders are unaware of Voodoo Doughnuts Too, opened up on May 30 of this year.
For their fifth anniversary, Voodoo Doughnuts opened this second location on Sandy Boulevard and Davis Avenue. Away from the downtown area of the first Voodoo's, this shop is one of Portland's best kept secrets.
A little over a mile away from the first location, Voodoo Doughnuts Too is not the most picturesque of places in Portland. The second location is, by and large, amidst used car lots, sleazy restaurants and cheap motels. The shop is located inside what used to be a fast-food restaurant, now painted bright pink.
Nonetheless, the new Voodoo has a fan base. Sophomore Conor Eifler and his friends nicknamed Voodoo Doughnuts Too "Newdoo" and are frequent customers of what they believe is the better of the two options. "Newdoo" has more seating than the old Voodoo, which makes it a far more comfortable and convenient hang out.
"Downtown Portland is cool, but if you're looking for the real Portland experience, kick it on the East Side. That's where the soul of Portland is," Eifler said. "Now that we've got a Voodoo, what more do you need? So many people come to UP assuming downtown in the place to be. Lies. You want real Portland, then know there's more than the Pearl District."
Freshman Ellen Farber, however, prefers the craziness of the Third Avenue location.
"I prefer the older Voodoo. Since you're in what people call the 'crotch' of Portland, you get to see all kinds of things and people that you would never get to experience going to the Sandy Boulevard location," Farber said.
Shift Manager Marina Bellknap of the Third Avenue location agrees with both students. "If you come to the downtown location, you're more than likely to get a show. There are more bars here, so you're going to see a lot more business and a lot more crazy people. The new location is much more laid back."
As for the choice of which Voodoo's to visit, it's hard to go wrong with either of the Voodoo Doughnuts locations. The only advice to consider is to try and be adventurous, or just go to both.
Some of the doughnuts that may look vile are actually the most delicious. Take, for example, the bacon maple bar, a maple bar topped with bacon. At first glance, this is repulsive. However, take some time to think about it: this doughnut has both the salty/sweet and the crispy/chewy combination, which makes for a remarkably scrumptious treat.
Vegan? Voodoo Doughnuts has animal lovers covered. They have a large collection of vegan doughnuts every day.
Engaged? They can take care of that too. Voodoo Doughnuts performs legal wedding ceremonies, underneath a velvet painting of Isaac Hayes and the "holy doughnut." The reception, of course, consists of eating coffee and doughnuts.
Voodoo Doughnuts also holds doughnut-eating contests the first Friday of every month.
The Newdoo is closed from 3-6 a.m., but the old location is open 24 hours a day. Stop by any time, really; and as a sign inside the store reads, "support your local doughnut."
Either way, Portlanders are going to get the same delicious, artery-clogging treat at either of the locations. It really depends on whether the experience to Voodoo Doughnuts is a stop or an excursion.
Once Downtown, take the 12 bus to 2nd Avenue and Burnside Street to 16th Avenue and Sandy Boulevard. By bus or by foot, it's really not a hassle to make it to Newdoo.
As it reads on the menu in Voodoo Doughnuts, "good things come in pink boxes."
