13 OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 5, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | twenty ounces, the egg, meat and potato- packed tortilla is a welcome departure from the recent trend of too many breakfast burri- tos cutting back on the egg and overindexing on the spuds. While named after Anna, who manages the counter with her children and local student helpers, her husband, Jesus, is the cook at Anna’s. A twenty-year veteran of such kitchens as Seasons 52 and Red Robin, he takes a notably chef-driven approach to the business, down to his specifi c technique for the eggs in his burritos and the fl our mixtures for each doughnut line. Soon, this business will add a second out- post in the former Lamar’s Donuts location at 2120 South Broadway. The opportunity arose after the owner of that shopping center saw the lines out the door and positive reviews, prompting them to call the Arcos family to see if they’d be interested in the space. “It was kind of like sent from above,” says Jesus. “It was meant to be, because he called fi ve minutes after we were just talking about maybe opening a new place.” The Donut 5270 East Arapahoe Road, Centennial 303-220-1744 Once one of several locally owned food/ beverage establishments in the former King Soopers shopping center, today The Donut remains on of the last surviving holdouts. Neighbors like Liks Ice Cream, Winston’s Smoke BBQ and Halfpenny Brewery are now gone. But thanks to new ownership, the Donut has managed to survive another day. Owner Su Bil bought the business last De- cember and has retained the head doughnut baker to keep operations running without a hitch, including dishing out breakfast bur- ritos that sell out within hours of opening. She also added some new items, like cream buns and cronut bars (basically a fried cronut with pastry cream and fruit). Among the regular customers frequent- ing the small walk-in shop are a large con- tingent of senior citizens living in the nearby assisted living communities. “They want their cake doughnuts,” Bil says. “They’re very specifi c. They’ve been eating doughnuts all their lives, and they know what they want.” Rest assured, gramps: She’s not getting rid of any old favorites, but she is creating new ones, such as an apple fritter literally as big as your face, and an equally large “Texas Donut” available for pre-order only. Wave The Grain 8172 South Holly Street, Centennial wavethegrain.com South of Arapahoe, past Dry Creek, is the gluten-free Wave The Grain. While not pri- marily a doughnut shop, Wave The Grain does offer a selection of baked gluten-free doughnuts along with the cupcakes, danishes and arepas that otherwise dominate the bak- ery. According to co-owner Tom O’Connor — who acquired the eight-year-old business in 2024 — only about 10 percent of sales come from doughnuts, which are typically featured on Saturdays, aka “donut days.” Email the author at [email protected]. Cafe continued from page 12
