Doughing something new

Uncle Joe’s Donuts & Treats offers more than 30 different fresh-baked doughnuts

DELICIOUS — Celeste Brothers (pictured) runs Joe’s Donuts as a two-person team with her husband, Joe. Photo Credit: Sarah Rodriguez

DELICIOUS — Celeste Brothers (pictured) runs Joe’s Donuts as a two-person team with her husband, Joe.
Photo Credit: Sarah Rodriguez

 

“Welcome to Uncle Joe’s Donuts,” Celeste Brothers said as she smiled at the customers in front of her.

“Let me tell you about our doughnuts today.”

Joe and Celeste Brothers, the owners of Uncle Joe’s Donuts & Things at 7423 Timberlake Rd., opened their shop in 2013 to the delight of many Lynchburg locals.

The Brothers, originally from California, moved to Lynchburg four years ago to be closer to family and enjoy a semi-retirement.

“We were at retirement age, and we were thinking, ‘What could we do instead of just going out and getting a job somewhere else,’” Celeste Brothers said.
“So we said to ourselves, ‘Let’s just try it,’ so we did. We trusted God to take care of every last detail, and he has.”

Joe Brothers, a baker for more than 40 years, and Celeste Brothers, a former teacher, were looking for something different when they made their move to Lynchburg back in 2013.

The couple was looking for work in the area when God opened another door for them.

The Brothers stumbled upon a building for rent and decided to fulfill their dreams of owning their own bakery.

“(Joe) had the baking skills, so we checked out the area and realized there really weren’t too many donut shops — if any — so we thought, ‘Let’s just try that,’” Celeste Brothers said.

Now, more than four years after Uncle Joe’s opening, business is still booming and Joe, 67, and Celeste, 65, are still single-handedly maintaining their doughnut shop and serving more customers than ever.

The couple’s shop has seen great success in the Lynchburg community and often sells out of doughnuts before closing each day.

“He’s here about midnight every night making the doughnuts from scratch,” Celeste Brothers said.

“He works anywhere from five to six hours and then comes home, and I head in to run the shop during the day.”

Uncle Joe’s Donuts serves a variety of more than 30 different doughnuts baked fresh daily.

Their doughnut selection ranges from basic glazed to Joe Brothers’ signature buttermilk cake doughnut, which Celeste Brothers said is Uncle Joe’s most popular doughnut.

According to Celeste Brothers, on the days that Uncle Joe’s has leftovers, all remaining doughnuts are donated to Blue Ridge Community Church or one of Lynchburg’s local fire stations.

Celeste Brothers also said Uncle Joe’s Donuts welcomes a large number of Liberty University students on a weekly basis.

“I’ve met up with a few friends before at Uncle Joe’s Donuts,” Liberty junior Alexis Rice said.

“They have a wide variety of treats, and I absolutely love that they have
gluten-free options.”

“We do have a lot of Liberty students at certain times,” Celeste Brothers said.

“We have our certain groups that come especially if it’s around a holiday or CFAW weekend.”

Uncle Joe’s Donuts & Things is open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday — Friday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday.

“I would say the number one thing about our shop is the fact that my husband is an excellent baker,” Celeste Brothers said.

“He’s old school — he makes everything delicious.”

For more information, call Uncle Joe’s at (434) 237-7668.

Runyon is a feature reporter.

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