SANDPOINT — While Rodney and April Johnson were sitting down for this interview, three groups of people came up to the door of the new Backwoods Donuts building to find it locked. 

Rodney Johnson could only let out a chuckle as the groups approached, and while he lamented the fact they weren’t open, the community’s excitement has brought joy to the couple. 

“It's like this all day. I feel so bad,” Rodney Johnson said. “My joke, since people have been coming in, is Sandpoint was put on like a prohibition for donuts.” 

April Johnson has worked in and ran numerous donut shops in Utah and South Dakota over the past 15 years and said she’s never seen a community get this excited for the opening of a donut shop. On the shop’s soft opening, Johnson said the line wrapped around the building, leaving her in awe. 

“We just kind of fist bumped each other, like we did this, like we're doing it,” Johnson said. “We're just two normal people, starting a mom-and-pop business, and it's being successful right off the bat. It was just exciting and tiring.” 

During the first day, the couple were swarmed by orders and said it was challenging to keep up with the demand. Johnson attributed part of the demand to the fact that their donuts are completely handmade and decorated, which separates them from the other places in the community. 

Rodney Johnson said by far the business’ most popular pastry has been the fritters, followed by their signature buttermilk bars. He said the customers have been raving about the fritters, which caught them off guard during the soft opening. 

“We can’t make enough,” April Johnson said. “People were like, ‘Are you going to be making more?’ And he was frying some up, and they're like, ‘Well, we'll wait,’ and they'd wait 20 minutes, 30 minutes just to get those fritters.” 

The couple initially came up with the idea of opening their own donut shop while they were in South Dakota. However, plans changed when Rodney Johnson’s job in the area didn’t become what he’d hoped for, and they began to look elsewhere to begin their journey. 

April Johnson’s parents lived in Cocolalla, which led them to find the old Burger Express building which was up for sale. The couple bought the building last winter and started pursuing their dream, aiming for a January opening date, which was pushed back following equipment delays and an overhaul of the interior. 

Johnson said they wanted to make the building a more welcoming, cozy atmosphere than what was there previously. The new interior features a fireplace, several reupholstered booths and plenty of Bigfoot imagery. 

“We want everybody to just feel like they're coming into, grandma's house, and she's made a batch full of cookies, and you're so excited to see them,” Johnson said. “You get to sit down with your family or your friends and enjoy them.” 

Two weeks after the soft opening, Johnson said it’s just the two of them running everything as recruiting employees to work the overnight shift has been no easy feat. Rodney Johnson asked residents to bear with them as they work out the kinks of running the store and reworking their hours. 

Yet, Johnson said the community’s support has been overwhelming. Johnson said fellow businesses like 4D Wraps, the Coffee Warehouse, North County Electric and North Idaho Plumbing were key in supporting the opening. 

“Even just taking donuts to them, they're jumping up and down with excitement, like, ‘Oh my gosh, you brought us donuts,'” Johnson said. “It's just fun to see that.” 

    Rodney and April Johnson stand at the counter of their shop, Backwoods Donuts.
  

    A photo of chocolate decorated donuts from Backwoods Donuts.
  

    Backwoods Donuts' cinnamon rolls in the process of being made.
  

    A view of the popular fritters from Backwoods Donuts.