A Fan-Favorite Donut Company Just Came Back From The Dead In A Surprising Northwest Location

The Carmack family legacy is one so rich with intrigue and triumph that it begs to be known. They started their family business as franchisees of the Spudnut brand―a Utah-based brand that famously uses potato flour to make pastries. Spuds + doughnuts = Spudnuts, of course! But the family became so successful with their own variation of spudnut recipe that they branched out and started their own family business after Spudnuts went under.

Videos by Sporked

A Local Favorite

Carmack’s was located in Bountiful, Utah and became an institution in their community. Sean Carmack said, “It was where kids rode their bikes when they’d scraped together pocket money, where first dates happened and first jobs were held, where birthdays and little league wins were celebrated.”

The Carmacks faced tragedy though, after years of beloved success. In the late ’90s Carmack’s had a kitchen fire that destroyed the building’s interior and they simply couldn’t recover. But the family didn’t abandon their legacy of freshly fried, light and airy, and spectacularly tender donuts. They continued to make donuts for friends and family, but they remained a delicacy for intimate moments of comfort and cheer. That is, until this year. Sean Carmack, the great-grandson of the original Carmack’s location decided it’s been long enough since their iconic family recipe was available for any ol’ donut enthusiast to enjoy.

The New Store

You would think that since Carmack’s was such an institution in Bountiful that its revival would mean a return to that location, or at least somewhere in the surrounding area in Utah. But when you think of unique, head-turningly delicious donuts, you don’t think of Utah, do you? If you’re anything like me, there’s only one place where a donut shop like this would make sense to begin anew: Portland, Oregon. Home to VooDoo Doughnuts and Blue Star Donuts, Portland is home to an overwhelming abundance of world-class donut institutions. It’s part of the culture there, and Carmack’s has officially joined the scene.

Carmack’s isn’t an official storefront yet though. For now, Sean Carmack operates his little slice of the Portland donut scene out of his personal residence in North Portland, just outside of Peninsula Park. He’s the next generation, and he’s bring his own little twist to the classic pastries with flavors like Black Walnut and Cinnamon-Cardamom but sticking true to everything that made them so beloved in the first place, their simplicity. It’s good dough, made well, and fried to perfection.

Carmack’s adds a refreshing take to what you’d typically think of as a Portland donut and they’re totally gimmick free. And maybe the best part of it all is that even in the year 2026, a donut from Carmack’s is just $2.50. For homemade perfection, it doesn’t get much better than that.