The Anchor has been a mainstay in Kingston’s restaurant scene for the past 10 years. And while the COVID pandemic hit them just as hard as other eateries, they faced an additional challenge this summer.

“I mean, it pretty much looked like a war zone over the summer,” said Brandy Walters, the restaurant's co-owner, describing construction at the intersection of I-587, Albany Avenue and Broadway. She says that the usual summer slowdown her restaurant faces only got worse with construction taking place just a few feet from her door.

“My whole building was shaking," Walters said. "We actually had bottles falling off the shelves, it was horrible. Summers are slow for us to begin with, and then you throw in a pandemic, and then you completely gate off access. There was no parking. We only have street parking to begin with. So when they took away the street parking, there was no place for customers to park. There was no where for them to go."

But now that parking spaces have returned and construction has slowed, she’s trying a new way to bring in more business.

“I actually grew up with my grandfather’s candy store, and I used to make funnel cake. I loved baking, and I had the idea of donuts. People love donuts, it’s a cheap, affordable luxury. You can make a really nice donut, and it’s something anybody can afford," said Walters.

The small room next to the main restaurant that once served as a laundromat is being converted, and in just a few weeks, will be a full-fledged donut bakery, with a fryer, donut racks, and a window for customers to pick up orders.

They’ve got some flavors you won’t find everywhere, like buttermilk strawberry with lemon cookie crumble, or matcha green tea with candied ginger.

For Walters, it’s about more than the nostalgia of making donuts. It's about the survival of her business, and making sure she keeps the 15 employees she has left, working full-time.

“Doing this is really important because while I’m going to be making the donuts myself, it gives the staff more stuff to do," Walters said. "To help measure stuff, to help market, to help come up with ideas. So it gives them more work hours, and helps me keep my staff employed full-time, and employed well.”