Award-winning west Omaha establishment Square Donut has been delighting donut lovers for five years, so it is no surprise Elizabeth Pooley has heard more than her share of square jokes, idioms, and puns. The enthusiastic bakery owner is amused by them all, but her favorite remains ‘we don’t cut corners,’ an idiom that proves both clever and useful for a shop that sells square-shaped sweets.
Embracing that mentality by avoiding short cuts and going above and beyond for customers and staff has guided Pooley toward success. Five years is a significant length of time for a specialty food business to remain profitable in this landscape, and the team at Square Donut has navigated the natural ups and downs with positivity and joy.
The birth of Square Donut was simple: finding herself in an empty nest, Pooley, a self-described sugar-averse serial entrepreneur decided it was time to devote energy toward her own pursuits. While mulling several ideas, she sampled a unique donut given to her by a friend from Alabama in early 2018. Unable to get the tasty delight out of her mind, she discovered the business was for sale, and ultimately bought the recipe and equipment with an eye toward shaping a future business.
After letting the notion simmer, Pooley opened Square Donut in March 2020 with the help of her son, Jack. Within days, a global pandemic shut everything down, but eventually, the little donut business triumphed. Pooley still expresses amazement at the support, sharing, “I had a very specific vision, and Omaha was so supportive and accepting of it—the community took it on and made it successful. The other day I got 700 likes on a social media post, which just blew my mind.”
One of Pooley’s primary goals was to rewrite the narrative on an old school kitchen culture that failed to value reciprocal communication or mutual respect. “I work hard to ensure my team knows they are part of the blueprint as the store grows. They have an active role in invention, feedback, and collaboration.”
The atmosphere in the shop on a busy morning provides a welcome adrenaline boost to the team. “I love to call it happy chaos—all the cogs are in place, the wheels are spinning, and it appears very well executed from the public perspective…pans of donuts lifted overhead, to the left, to the right, it’s a seamless dance,” Pooley described.
In addition to the obvious difference in shape, Pooley’s vision includes elevating the donut itself to a more boutique or couture offering—she describes it as “the Gucci of donuts.” Square Donut was one of the first donut shops in town to tackle custom donuts and to take preorders, providing another level of service to customers.
According to Pooley, inspiration for the Donut of the Month comes from both food and random observations. For example, on the wall of a local restaurant she spied a black and white poster adorned with an old-fashioned font that reminded her of a whisky label, so the relentless creative immediately started experimenting with a whisky donut. She further describes her boundless creativity as, “Being in my head is exhausting. I have ideas spewing in my brain by the minute, so I keep a notebook handy to jot down ideas.”
Community is important to Pooley, so she and her family prioritize the support of local small business. To wit, her social media accounts frequently sing the praises of Omaha and Lincoln area establishments such as Block 16, Muchachos, Ooh de Lally, Cunninghams, Blue & Fly, and Karma Koffee. The Square Donut shop serves coffee from local roastery Hardy Coffee Co., and future collaborations with other business are in the works. “I love to call out these business on both a personal and professional level. It’s important to us to patronize and continue to lift up good business owners in the community.”
In 2023, Pooley published an inspirational business book titled From Scratch that describes the many challenges she and her team have overcome during the past five years of business, as well as the experiences that helped build the resilience to get to where she is today. After hitting the five-year milestone of being in business, it’s a story that tastes even sweeter.