Donut Bank updates logo, opens new location on Evansville’s north side
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Evansville-based Donut Bank is opening its 11th location with a new look on the city’s north side.
The latest expansion at 6415 Vieth Ln. features a new logo with black letters and a pink donut with sprinkles over a shield outlined in black and pink. The donut shop’s previous sign featured green lettering and an orange-lined shield.
“Our focus was on trying to make it a little bit more fun and brighten it up. As we were going through that [process], we learned this is not an uncommon practice for many Fortune 500 companies. It’s done quite regularly,” said co-owner Chris Kempf. “But for us, since we’re local, it receives a lot of attention. We’re pleased with our latest edition. It’s going to be good for us and the community.”
The new signage, which can also be found at the St. Joseph Ave., Lincoln Ave., and Newburgh locations, will eventually be displayed at every store.
“We are getting together to develop a plan on how we go forward and which locations are next and what that time frame looks like,” Chris Kempf said.
About Donut Bank
In 1967, Harold and Shirley Kempf, Chris Kempf’s parents, launched the first Donut Bank Bakery & Coffee on First Ave. in Evansville. The name and brand have changed several times in the past decades as the business and its menu have evolved.
“For a while there, we had wheat on our logo, and [Dad] did the old English type of font…because he wanted to identify as a German bakery,” said Chris Kempf.
Chris Kempf and his co-owners, brothers Ben and Joe, got involved with the family-owned bakery when they were growing up.
“There were seven kids in our family, all of us brothers and sisters. We all worked through the business, and it was a collaborative effort to get where we’re at now with the amount of family and cousins and aunts and uncles that worked here,” Ben Kempf said.
The Kempf brothers took over the business from their parents nearly 20 years ago in 2006. The company, which employs around 200 people, will celebrate its 58th anniversary this summer.
“When Mom and Dad decided to hand over the reins, it was a wake-up for me to say, ‘Oh, this is really happening.’ And that’s when we got serious about growing,” said Ben Kempf. “We’re fortunate to have Mom and Dad still with us. Dad still comes in maybe once or twice a week. It’s good to see him around and see something that he had a hand in helping us to create right here, right now.”
‘The shield can never go away’
As the Kempf brothers were in the process of updating the Donut Bank brand, they ran into a problem. An incorrect version of the new logo without the shield was put up at the Newburgh location, drawing criticism from patrons before the sign was corrected with the right image.
“We’ve come to understand that the shield can never go away because it’s a part of a lot of people’s lives,” Chris Kempf said. “They take that shield personally because they identify that with their childhood and growing up.”
The business experienced a similar backlash in 2023 when stores stopped selling decorated cakes.
“We could no longer ship cakes to 10 locations. We don’t know anyone in the country that does that. If we weren’t able to provide a decorator at each location, then it became an exercise in futility. It was never going to be done right,” said Chris Kempf. “Every bump a driver hit delivering, that cake was going to fall. And because of the different locations, we lost that one-on-one instruction from the customer to our decorators on exactly how they wanted each cake.”
Donut Bank also had issues competing with other stores on custom cake pricing. Eliminating decorated cakes and refreshing the brand have been part of the company’s strategy to excel at its strengths: donuts and coffee.
“We came to realize that our focus needed to be on donuts. It’s in our name, and that’s what we wanted to be strong in. That’s been the evolution,” said Chris Kempf. “Although we still make cookies and cake squares and cupcakes and things like that, we couldn’t identify as a bakery any longer.”
The new brand aims to create a fun environment and attract a specific demographic to the stores.
“We’re pulling an older crowd, and we’re trying to get the kids back in,” Ben Kempf said. “Having something bright, hopefully, that will get more attention for the kids and teenagers to come in because we can’t rely on the customer base that we have currently. It needs to be freshened up.”
Northside location
The Kempf brothers will be busy this week as the new Donut Bank near Deaconess Sports Park and Goebel Soccer Complex starts to welcome customers as part of a soft opening. A grand opening with specials is expected to be held at a later date.
“We want to get our team experienced and comfortable in their surroundings so we can provide the level of service that we’re accustomed to giving,” said Chris Kempf.
Excitement has been building in the area since the business announced the Vieth Ln. location in June 2024 and broke ground later that year in November.
“A lot of people want to know when it’s going to open because there are so many people who live out there. It should be a good location,” Chris Kempf said.
As for future stores, the brothers said they’ll continue to focus on the best locations available when considering expansion plans.
“We don’t want to grow just to say we’re growing. We want to be successful at it. We like to own our properties, and we like to do things right. And our relationship with our team is important. We take all those things into consideration,” said Chris Kempf. “We’ll continue looking for good opportunities. We don’t have any plans on slowing down.”