We were warned to arrive early so I set my alarm for 6:45 a.m. and hoped for the best. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I watched the sun peek out over the Intracoastal as I prepared for the long trek up to Jupiter. There are few things worth waking up so early for, but I figured sampling what some say are the best doughnuts in the county just might be one of those things.

Doughnuts tap into memories. You may remember a time in your life when you lived near a neighborhood doughnut shop, or visiting one as a child with your grandparents. Like ice cream shops and candy stores, doughnut shops are about nostalgia. And Jupiter Donut Factory is intent on creating new memories.

Open a short seven months and already making a name for itself, the shop has attracted customers from as far away as Boca, customers willing to wait in a line that snakes outside on weekends, customers anxious to snag their favorite kind of doughnut before it sells out.

And sell out they do – so it’s good that we got there early.

We found that, in the era of big corporations, it truly is a Mom and Pop shop. Bill Hebrank makes the doughnuts, his wife, Nancy, tops them and their daughter, Carey, sells them. The owners arrive at 2:30 a.m. to get the doughnuts ready for sales at 6 a.m. The store only stays open until the last doughnut is gone, or 2 p.m. – whichever comes first. Big selling days are Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

But even on a Tuesday morning at 8:20 a.m. there’s a line five people deep, patiently waiting, many hoping the apple fritters are still there (they were gone by 9 a.m.).

This morning there were 32 flavors – that number goes up to around 50 on the weekend. It’s a place where you actually sit and enjoy your doughnut – that is if you’re not bringing back a dozen for your coworkers.

I ordered a half-dozen and sampled them all – from the raspberry jelly (very berry, in a very good way) to cinnamon sugar (so light, yeasty and airy) to the red velvet with cream cheese frosting (reminded me of a cupcake at an 8-year old’s birthday party). Then there was the Sour Creme Old-Fashioned (it’s more like brunch cake than doughnut) the butternut crunch (light, airy delicious with an unidentifiable but delicious crunch) and the chocolate with sprinkles (a perfect specimen of a delicious standard).

Later, as the sugar set in for the drive home, I was reminded of why exactly we don’t have a doughnut (or six) every morning. They’re a treat, a gift we give ourselves, a splurge to make the week go faster or a reward after a hard week. Whatever the reason, whatever the excuse, they’re a tiny part of living a joyful life.

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