Holey Grail Donuts, the cult-favorite taro donut shop originating from Hawaii, officially opened its second brick-and-mortar location in Los Angeles on March 11 [148 N Larchmont Boulevard]. Founded by siblings Hana and Nile Dreiling in 2018 in Kauai, and backed by notable fans like Tony Hawk, celebrated chef Christopher Kostow, and actor Zach Braff, Holey Grail opens their highly anticipated shop after months of hosting popular preview tastings and pop-ups around Los Angeles, along with their official opening of their first Los Angeles location in Santa Monica late last year.
A donut created from its surroundings, Holey Grail brings a unique perspective with its focus on Hawaii-inspired flavors, local and sustainable ingredients, and community involvement. They are one of the first major donut shops to exclusively use taro, an ancient superfood revered for its nutritional, medicinal and ecological benefits, as their dough base. The donuts are prepared-to-order in organic, fair trade coconut oil, and garnished with a variety of seasonally changing flavors, inspired by Holey Grail’s Hawaii roots as well as local LA purveyors. The team has created more than 60 flavors since its founding with ingredient integrity as the cornerstone, while maintaining the satisfaction, nostalgia and texture of what a donut truly should be. Their taro is sourced from small producer partners in Hawaii, and to support their Los Angeles expansion, Holey Grail is building out a micro-regional supply chain in order to maintain and improve upon the authentic experience communities have grown to ritualize.
In celebration of their new opening, Holey Grail Donuts will offer a free Original Sin donut, one of their most popular flavors featuring maple, Hawaiian vanilla bean and sea salt. With a purchase of donuts on their grand opening, guests who make the pilgrimage to their new shop on March 11th will receive a complimentary donut. The festive grand opening event will also feature live music from DJ Blk Soap, who will be spinning vinyl from 10 AM – 2 PM on their grand opening date.
Holey Grail opens its Larchmont location with new donut flavors, including a special “Breaking Bread” collaboration donut with Sunrise Shack, a Kauai born brand serving up the best smoothie and acai bowls throughout the islands. Also with origin stories in Hawaii, Sunrise Shack was started by two pro surfers from Hanalei. The “Blue Dream” donut is inspired by their famous smoothie bowl featuring banana, mango, blue majik spirulina, granola, coconut flakes, fresh strawberries and local honey. The special collaboration donut is available from March 5th through April 2nd at all Holey Grail locations.
Additional donuts on the menu include:
- Lilikoi with fresh yellow and Jamaican passion fruit
- Saffron Snickerdoodle with saffron and rolled in cinnamon vanilla sugar
- Miso Honey with miso, honey and Hawaiin black lava sea salt
- Rick Martinez, a collaboration flavor with Chef Rick Martinez includes raspberry, dragon fruit, coconut tres leches
Holey Grail also offers a variety of beverages, with some coffee and housemade nut milks on tap, including snap-chilled iced Coava Coffee; Cacao Latte with housemade cashew coconut milk served over ice; Matcha Prophecy, a matcha latte made with Mizuba Tea Co. single-origin matcha; Holey Chocolate Milk made with with Mānoa Chocolate Hawaiian cacao; Holey Chai, a hand craft chai blend with nitro infused housemade nut milk; and more.
Holey Grail highlights their whole donut-making process front and center in their newest 1,000 square foot Larchmont space, designed and built in partnership with ERA Studio and Curato Design / Build. There is a donut-making island surrounded by cinder block walls, open rafters, and pops of vibrant turmeric color. A display fridge showcases an array of rotating local ingredients like edible flowers, finger limes, and dragonfruit, highlighting their thoughtful and seasonal approach to donuts. As a homage to their star ingredient taro, the space includes vibrant taro plants, as well as photography of their beloved farm partners and original Hanalei location, spotlighting Holey Grail’s origin story.
