HELLERTOWN, Pa. — Aloha Jay's Malasadas is a sellout business — literally.
The Hawaiian donut shop has sold out of malasadas every day since it opened Saturday — even with a half-dozen donut limit per customer, owner Jay Losagio said.
So Losagio made the executive decision to adjust operating hours.
It's a move out of respect for both customers and employees, he said.
"On a customer standpoint.... we post on Facebook, 'Hey, we sold out,' but a lot of people don't follow Facebook. So they come here, only to see a sign saying, 'Hey, we sold out today.' And on a customer service standpoint, I don't like that, even though it's not my fault. I don't like that."Aloha Jay's owner Jay Losagio
"For my employees, I wanted them to, you know, work normal, but not work to the point where they're burning themselves out — which I thought was rapidly happening," Losagio said.
"And then the other thing is, on a customer standpoint.... we post on Facebook, 'Hey, we sold out,' but a lot of people don't follow Facebook.
"So they come here, only to see a sign saying, 'Hey, we sold out today.' And on a customer service standpoint, I don't like that, even though it's not my fault. I don't like that."
On the first day, Losagio said, a line stretched across the block — the shop sold out at 10:30 a.m. that day — and a handful of Facebook posts bare a similar story.
"Did we wait over 2 [hours] for these beauties?" Courtney Ann said on the LEHIGH VALLEY FOOD Facebook group. "Yes we did! But it was not because production was slow, it was the overabundance of orders!"
Coaxed in by coffee
The shop's Kona coffee is a hit, too.
"We also sold out a Kona coffee, which is another surprise," Losagio said.
"Again, I had no idea people would like it that much. You know, and people love it.... I thought some people will drink it, but I was wrong about that."
"It's delicious. We're Kona coffee lovers."Custome Diane Sanchez
Diane Sanchez and Brynley Bower said they visited the shop Tuesday morning just for the coffee after seeing posts about it online.
"It's delicious," Sanchez said. "We're Kona coffee lovers."
They were part of a handful of customers continually streaming through the 917-square-foot shop — a typical turnout, Losagio said.
He said five to 20 customers keep a steady flow of foot traffic through the door, including customers from distances such as New York and Connecticut.
It was Sanchez and Bower's first time at the shop. Bower said she just moved to the area from California, but knew of Kona coffee from trips to Hawaii.
"I'm a visitor, but I'd come back for this," Sanchez, also of California, said.
The two both got malasadas with their coffee as well, which Sanchez described as "pillowy." Bower said she expects the shop to get popular.
Customer reaction
Losagio wants to keep that support going, but not at the expense of his employees or the customer experience.
Making malasadas takes time. One batch of dough can make more than 400 donuts, which then have to be coated in sugar and decorated or filled.
As a result, Aloha Jay's will operate under temporary hours, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., to accommodate the demand until its grand opening May 18.
"They understand that hey, we're only what? Three days open now, tomorrow's the fourth day — they get it."Aloha Jay owner Jay Losagio
Despite the temporarily cutback, Aloha Jay's customers still will be greeted by "Mama" Jean Losagio with a lei and get to jam out to island music while they wait in line.
The shop's website suggests online ordering will become available soon, but customers can find daily donut flavors on its Facebook page for the time being.
"This will give us time to hire more great employees, train them up and will be able to produce more malasadas and stay open longer!" an Aloha Jay's Facebook post said.
"We definitely don't want to put more pressure on our great employees and work them more. People, their families, et cetera, are more important than malasadas, if that makes sense."
Add in what Losagio called another surprising factor: customer reactions to the Facebook post.
"I was very pleased when I posted that [Monday] that people respect that," he said. "And they're like, they understand that hey, we're only what? Three days open now, tomorrow's the fourth day — they get it."
