Hi-Five Doughnuts to open in new location. Here's the story behind their sweet success

Before Hi-Five Doughnuts found its new sweet spot in the Highlands, a lot had to happen.

The owners of Louisville’s popular specialty doughnut shop had to find a new location after the lease to their Butchertown brick-and-mortar was not renewed in late 2022. Then they had to battle a year of renovations and construction to the new digs at 1940 Harvard Drive.

If you want to go back further, the two former college roommates first had to learn how to make doughnuts.

That happened about a decade ago when Annie Harlow saw something on TV about a funky doughnut shop. She had a “big girl job” as a grant writer at the time, but found herself unhappy with work and unable to stop thinking about the idea of a doughnut shop. She called up a former roommate from the University of Louisville, Leslie Wilson, who found herself back in town after a stint in Los Angeles.

A few months later, in April 2013, the pair got a recipe and a tent at a local farmers market. By 2014, they saved enough money to take Hi-Five Doughnuts on wheels with a food truck named Shelby.

Thanks to a mix of their creative concoctions and timing, Hi-Five took off on social media. On Instagram, Hi-Five has 24,000 followers. The mobile bakery also drew attention from publications such as Southern Living.

“It was really fun coming on the scene as one of the first food trucks,” Wilson told the Courier Journal.

When Hi-Five opened on Main Street in Butchertown, customers and Instagram followers alike were ready for a permanent place for build-your-own doughnuts and specialty choices (like a Kentucky Fried Buttermilk Chicken Doughnut).

And then something “out of their control,” the owners say, happened. After six years inside the 700-square-foot yellow house, Hi-Five had to find a new location.

It didn’t take long to settle on the shop in the Highlands, which is also just about 700 square feet, and the owners initially estimated they’d be ready by early 2023.

“Because of how special we knew this space was, we decided to just do it,” Wilson said. “It just seemed kismet.”

Due to delays with renovations and construction, a year went by without selling doughnuts.

“Everything just kept taking a little longer, so our three months turned into six turned into nine turned into 12,” Wilson said. “Obstacles kept happening.”

Those obstacles, hopefully, are over. Hi-Five officially opened on Feb. 13 on Harvard Drive, just in time to serve heart-shaped doughnuts on Valentine’s Day.

“It’s been a long journey for Annie and I,” Wilson said.

Both Wilson and Harlow call this new location a “blessing” for the business. They like the walkable neighborhood feel, with Hi-Five just steps away from Ten20 Craft Brewery, Dundee Tavern and Dad’s Coffee.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Harlow said. “We feel like this is a really good place to call home.”

Their new home comes with a larger food menu, including a fried chicken doughnut sandwich, and a full-service coffee program that includes lattes made with Hi-Five’s doughnut glaze recipe. The coffee comes from City Girl Coffee Company, a Minneapolis-based business.

Also on the menu is a hint to “Mini Widoughmaker Food Challenge,” consisting of three stacked doughnuts with a pound of fried chicken, a pound of bacon, and sausage gravy all topped with cornflakes and a grape drizzle. Customers can order a miniature version for $20.

Walking inside, you’ll see a counter full of treats like cinnamon and sugar twists, long johns and doughnut holes. You’ll also see pink walls, doughnut-themed artwork, stickers reading “Dem ladies dough” and “We can doughnut” tote bags.

“I think what we like to do is take something people expect and turn it upside down a little bit,” Harlow said.

Now, they’ll be able to continue that mission.

“Here, we can really have a presence in the community,” Wilson said. “It feels incredible.”

Reach food and dining reporter Amanda Hancock at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Hi-Five Doughnuts set to reopen in Louisville's Highlands neighborhood