LEXINGTON, N.C. — Get them while they're hot. Donuts, that is.

“The goal is to have the best donuts in America," said Saro Vay, co-owner of the Red Donut Shop. 

What You Need To Know

  • Saro and David Vay are the owners of the Red Donut Shop where their little brother, Vonnie Vay, works with them

  • The shop was named after its original building, which housed The Red Pig restaurant

  • The apple fritter is a fan favorite

That is exactly what the Red Donut Shop, in downtown Lexington, has become known for since it opened in 2015.

Three brothers — Saro, David and Vonnie Vay — have been perfecting their craft for the past seven years.

“The only bad thing about donuts is waking up and cooking them," Saro Vay said. "This is a fun job, but sometimes just waking up early is the hardest part."

Other than the early mornings, there's not much these brothers don't like about their job.

“When you make your donuts, that’s one of your favorite parts because when you go out to the front, they like to compliment you and tell you how good of a job you’ve done. That’s what’s satisfying,” Saro Vay said.

Icing runs in these guys' blood. The Vays' extended family has donut shops across the country after coming to America for a new beginning.

“My family, they’re originally from Cambodia, and they came here during the war back in ‘79, 1980,” Saro Vay said.

The Vay brothers were born in America but quickly realized they wanted to carry on the family tradition.

“We grew up here probably about 15 years and then we moved out to California to learn, to chase the American dream, and learn how to make donuts, and now here we are. We came back to North Carolina to make donuts,” Saro Vay said.

The Red Donut Shop got its name from its building. Back in the 1920s, it hosted a restaurant called The Red Pig, which was rumored to serve alcohol during Prohibition. It has since moved, but nowadays the one detail that isn't a rumor is how delicious people think these donuts are.

“I’d say on a good day we would sell out, but probably about 80%-85% of the product,” said David Vay, co-owner of the shop.

The leftovers are never resold and never go to waste.

“Everything is fresh every day,” David Vay said. “Well, sometimes we’ll take it and donate it to the homeless shelter.” 

What makes this fried sugary dough stand out from the rest is the experience you get when choosing how much or how little filling you want.

“Usually everything is already pre-filled and we thought we’d switch it up a bit, just to give everybody a choice,” David Vay said.

What started off as an accident became their trademark after they moved the filling machines out behind the counter, in plain view.

“Our old shop was a lot smaller, so we didn’t have any space to store it, so we thought, you know what, how about we just put it in the front and let the customers see what we’re doing,” David Vay said.

It's something you donut want to miss.