A Berliner-Style Doughnut Shop Is Opening in the Former Blue Star Flagship Location

The pastries are filled, glazed and feature no center hole. They will also be used as “bread” for breakfast sandos.

Fills Donuts are Berliner-style filled pastries.
By Andi Prewitt

In Portland, if a doughnut shop closes, it won't be long before another one takes its place.

And if you thought Portland didn't need another doughnut maker, this one is introducing a new style to the culinary scene: the Berliner.

Fills Donuts is set to open Friday, Oct. 16, in Blue Star Donuts' former downtown flagship at 1237 SW Washington St. The business is a joint venture between pastry chef Katherine Benvenuti, who also runs the ovens at the recently reopened Bakery at Bar King; Leather Storrs, founding chef of Noble Rot and host of Cooked with Cannabis on Netflix; and Kurt Huffman's omnipresent restaurant group, ChefStable.

So what is a Berliner doughnut? They are traditional German pastries with no center hole and a filling of fruit, chocolate or custard. Fills' version starts with a naturally leavened sourdough starter that's not too sweet before it's then fried in small batches, cooled, hand filled and glazed.

Customers can expect plenty of inventiveness in Fills' finished products, including flavors like matcha, pumpkin, hazelnut and even a pimento cheese doughnut with a sesame seed topping.

The Berliner comes with an additional bonus. While few people enjoy stale pastries, Storrs discovered that the longer the style sits, it becomes more breadlike. That means Fills can use the older doughnuts as the foundation for breakfast sandwiches stuffed with eggs and bacon, which will be rolled out later this fall along with soft-serve cones and sundaes.

The shop will operate from 8 am to 2 pm Wednesday through Sunday.

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