Palatine’s Spunky Dunkers to open Arlington Heights doughnut shop

A single bite of any of Spunky Dunkers’ chocolate icing offerings practically ensures today’s first-time patron will be tomorrow’s repeat customer.

The crowd favorite is just one of the longtime Palatine doughnut shop’s many specialties, and thanks to a new joint venture, a wider audience is about to be introduced to the sweet treats.

Spunky Dunkers will expand this June to a second location in Arlington Heights. The site, at 3441 N. Arlington Heights Road, is located steps away from Buffalo Grove High School.

“You can tell by the taste of the doughnuts, there’s a lot of love and care that goes into making them,” new investor and old customer Sam Turzitti said. “We think it’ll be a big hit.”

The ball got rolling more than a year ago when Jan Daczewitz, who co-owns Spunky Dunkers at 20 S. Northwest Highway with sisters Sherree Daczewitz and Suzette Campbell, was at the hair salon. She mentioned they were thinking about expanding, and the next time she went to get her hair done, stylist Carmen Venuti had a potential investor — her husband.

Turzitti and Frank Venuti, both of Palatine, got together with Lewis Calabrese of Park Ridge and Phil Hinton of New Lenox. The men, all self-employed, hope to open another three to five locations in upcoming years.

In addition to the fresh coffee and wide selection of handmade doughnuts, which include seasonal offerings such as apple crisp, pumpkin, red velvet and peanut butter and jelly, the more spacious Arlington Heights shop will offer homemade ice cream.

Though it will be located just around the corner from a Dunkin’ Donuts, Turzitti doesn’t see that as a negative, pointing out that many McDonald’s and Burger King restaurants are located near one another.

His group expects to be successful with help from the high school and the estimated 67,000 cars that pass near the intersection of Arlington Heights and Dundee roads each day.

Jan Daczewitz said she’s excited for Spunky Dunkers to enter a new era, one she didn’t necessarily expect when she entered the business. The shop opened as a Mister Donut in 1964, and Daczewitz’s family bought it in 1987.

When Dunkin’ Donuts bought out the chain, they became independent and held a naming contest in the mid-90s, which a Fremd High School student won.

She said the recipe for success is simple.

“We bake twice a day on the premises, so our doughnuts are always fresh,” Daczewitz said. “And we love our customers.”