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FORT MYERS, Fla. \u2013In 2008, during one of the worst recessions in Southwest Florida, a former local morning disc jockey Bob Grissinger, aka C. David Bennett, took a chance on opening a donut and coffee shop in downtown Fort Myers.\u00a0 A decade later that gamble has proven to be a good bet.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we celebrate our 10th<\/sup>anniversary we are so very thankful and humbled by the Southwest Florida community for supporting us,\u201d said Grissinger. \u201cWe are proof that small, locally owned businesses can be successful, contributing members to our local economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Grissinger opened the shop located off West First Street at 2011 Bayside Parkway, in a 2,000 square foot lovingly restored 1943 former home with partners Roger Munro, Frank Albano and Anne Munro.<\/p>\n Today the company has 16 employees and has sold more than 60,000 pounds of coffee and 1.8 million donuts over the past decade.<\/p>\n To celebrate 10 years, Bennett\u2019s is planning some free giveaways, the unveiling of a new anniversary donut and a 10th<\/sup>anniversary special blend of coffee all month long.<\/p>\n Just like Bennett\u2019s quaint little shop, it\u2019s what\u2019s on the inside that counts with their new Decadent Decade Donut. The donut starts with fresh yeast that after being allowed to rise for 90 minutes is cooked til light and fluffy. It is then robustly filled with both fresh blackberry and cream fillings and finished off with a fine sugar dust. According to Grissinger, each donut takes two hours to make.<\/p>\n \u201cOur little downtown shop isn\u2019t fancy or flashy,\u201d said Grissinger. \u201cYou might even miss us and drive by; but once you walk inside you see that we are special. We don\u2019t use typical ingredients you\u2019ll find at national chains. We start preparing at midnight to make our fresh from scratch donuts and house roasted coffees.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the Decadent Decade Donut, Bennett\u2019s will offer a free Bennett\u2019s travel mug to the first 100 customers on Thursday, February 8. During the month of February, they will also be offering a special 10th<\/sup>anniversary blend containing some of the best, most expensive coffees in the world.<\/p>\n \u201cI like that they aren\u2019t thick cake-based donuts, they are yeast raised from scratch and very light and fluffy. I could eat six and I would only feel like I ate one,\u201d said Fort Myers resident and long-time Bennett\u2019s patron Nicole Mazzola.<\/p>\n Over the past decade, Grissinger and his team have had a lot of fun offering unique items and even getting some national attention for their unconventional creations.<\/p>\n To celebrate National Coffee Day in 2009, they roasted and served a limited amount of the world famous kopi luwak coffee, otherwise known as \u201ccoffee poo coffee\u201d. The coffee back then cost $190 a pound.\u00a0Bennett\u2019s sold samples for $10 and sold out by 9 a.m<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t live without Bennett\u2019s coffee; I\u2019m probably at Bennett\u2019s seven days per week and I average more than one trip per day,\u201d said longtime Bennett\u2019s customer and Fort Myers resident Phil Gaylor. \u201cI enjoy the taste and the convenient location of Bob\u2019s shop. I am addicted and through the years I\u2019ve made acquaintances who drive a few times a week from Punta Gorda while they are visiting during the winter months.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 2013, Grissinger and Bennett\u2019s baker Lisa Bronchetti competed against other donut experts in Donut Showdown premiering in the U.S. on the Cooking Channel. \u00a0The episode that Grissinger and Bronchetti were featured in was called \u201cCarnival\u201d and showed them making a Honey-Berry-Mascarpone donut; a fluffy Bennett\u2019s doughnut covered in mascarpone icing, topped with three types of berries and then drizzled in honey. Grissinger was one of 42 fiercely competitive donut pros from across North America featured on the show. The show will have an encore airing of Grissinger and Bronchetti\u2019s showdown on the Cooking Channel on February 16 at 8 a.m.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything is homemade and that\u2019s really hard to find anymore,\u201d said Cape Coral resident Bronchetti, who has worked with Grissinger for the past 9 years. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to work for someone that has such high standards for quality and customer service. And the customers are so wonderful. I\u2019ve gotten to know so many of them and seeing them again and again in the shop is just fabulous.\u201d<\/p>\n Bennett\u2019s is known as the premier in-shop coffee roaster in Southwest Florida. They skillfully roast their coffee in micro batches as soon as the day before it\u2019s ground, brewed and served, avoiding off flavors like bitterness and rancidity so often present in coffee roasted by less experienced roasters.<\/p>\n In addition to fresh roasted coffee and hand-cut-from-scratch donuts, Bennett\u2019s also offers fresh desserts from Grissinger\u2019s own recipe book including praline bread pudding and lemon bars, giving area residents an alternative for afternoon treats. It also features packaged whole bean or ground coffees, breakfast muffins, oatmeal and breakfast sandwiches. On the weekends, Bennett\u2019s Strata (a layered baked breakfast dish) is a regular sellout. Tea lovers may choose from a large variety of Harney & Sons Fine Teas. Lunch offerings, including paninis, soups, sandwiches, three signature salads and Bennett\u2019s\u00a0\u2018Lobster Roll\u2019, \u2018Chicken & Donut\u2019 and \u2018Donut Dog,\u2019 are available Monday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n Bennett\u2019s is open Monday through Sunday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.<\/p>\n