The Spudnut Coffee Shop
The Spudnut Coffee Shop was a Charlottesville institution, at least as famous as Monticello. People of all walks of life flocked to the small cinderblock building on Avon Street each morning to satisfy a craving which only a Spudnut could satisfy.
Not long after I moved to Charlottesville, I noticed the new shop and the interesting name. What’s a Spudnut? I marveled at how the parking lot was always filled. One day, I decided to investigate, found a rare parking spot, went in, stood in line, and ordered a half-dozen Spudnut’s. With one bite, you could understand the long lines and loyal customers of nearly 50 years.
Richard Wingfield opened Spudnut’s in 1969, introducing Mr. Jefferson’s students and villagers to fried doughnuts fashioned from potato starches. Folks found them lighter and fluffier than traditional donuts and it was a match made in heaven.
Spudnuts, of course, were made from potato flour or sometimes from mashed potatoes. They had a unique flavor and when coated with a thick, sweet sugar glaze, they were irresistible. Wingfield’s goodies came in all sorts of varieties, including cinnamon-sugar, chocolate-dipped, coconut, blueberry, maple, and others, but the overwhelming favorites were the plain glazed Spudnuts.
The shop ultimately closed in 2016. Flags were lowered to half-staff and the City of Charlottesville went in mourning. When the last Spudnut was served on December 30 of that year, the customer paid in cash because, as always, The Spudnut Shop never accepted credit cards, only cash.
