Nomad Donuts

What Nomad Donuts does

Nomad Donuts is an independent, privately held restaurant founded in 2014 and operating a single retail cafe at 3102 University Avenue in San Diego's North Park neighborhood. The company serves breakfast and lunch with a menu centered on artisanal donuts (classic, specialty, donut holes, and pre-packaged boxes), Montreal-style bagels, a diverse sandwich program including globally-inspired and vegan variants, burritos and tacos, coffee sourced from Steady State Roasting Co., and limited alcohol service. Headcount is reported in the 11-50 band, consistent with a single-location independent operator.

The business runs on Toast Tab's restaurant platform, which powers point-of-sale, online pickup ordering, the public website, email marketing, gift card fulfillment, and payment processing. There is no proprietary technology stack, no mobile app, and no public-facing API; the technology layer is entirely SaaS-sourced. Revenue is generated through one-time transactions at the cafe, online pickup orders, catering inquiries for events, and digital gift card sales ($5-$500 denominations), with a small branded merchandise line as an ancillary stream.

The customer base is predominantly local North Park consumers (dine-in and pickup) supplemented by catering customers for events and a vegan/plant-based consumer segment served by an extensive dedicated menu. In August 2023, the company initiated a debt offering (with $81,499 recorded as raised) to refinance high-interest debt and fund expansion of wholesale and catering operations plus equipment investment, signaling intent to scale channel mix rather than geographic footprint. No institutional investment, private equity backing, or franchise structure is disclosed.

Name

Nomad Donuts

Website

https://nomaddonuts.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nomad Donuts is an independent San Diego cafe in North Park serving artisanal donuts, Montreal-style bagels, sandwiches, coffee, and catering to local consumers and event customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisanal Bakery & Cafe

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Retail Bakeries (311811), Baked Goods Retailers (445291), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812), Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAFAGAE

Donut Shops

Travel & Hospitality/Foodservice & Beverage (Restaurants, Cafes, Bars)/Dessert, Ice Cream & Specialty Sweets Shops

Keywords

• Artisan donuts
• Montreal-style bagels
• Specialty coffee
• Breakfast sandwiches
• Event catering

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Retail Food & Beverage Sales: Direct sales of artisanal donuts, bagels, sandwiches, coffee, and beverages through the cafe's physical location and online ordering platform. One-time transaction model for individual items.
2. Catering & Wholesale: Catering services for events and wholesale operations. Per August 2023 news, the company was seeking to raise funds specifically to expand wholesale and catering operations.
3. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards sold in denominations from $5 to $500 through the website.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Nomad Donuts is an independent single-location cafe in San Diego's North Park neighborhood that bakes and sells artisanal donuts, Montreal-style bagels, and a globally-inspired sandwich and brunch menu daily. The cafe also serves specialty coffee, provides catering and wholesale services for events, and sells digital gift cards and branded merchandise. All bagels are naturally vegan, and the business maintains an extensive plant-based menu alongside traditional offerings.

Product overview

Nomad Donuts is an independent restaurant serving breakfast and lunch in San Diego's North Park neighborhood, operating as a single-location cafe. The core offering centers on artisanal donuts (Classic, Specialty, and Donut Holes varieties), Montreal-style bagels, and diverse sandwich menus (Classic Sandos, Specialty Sandos, and Vegan options). The business also provides catering services for wholesale and events, online ordering via Toast integration, gift cards, and branded merchandise. Coffee is sourced from Steady State Roasting Co., and the menu features extensive vegan and plant-based options alongside traditional offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Artisanal Donuts Baked fresh daily on-site, ranging from Classic donuts (Birthday, Vanilla Glaze, Chocolate Glaze, Maple Glaze, Blueberry Old Fashioned, Coffee Old Fashioned, Cinnamon Sugar Crueler, Mexican Chocolate Crueler; $3.00–$4.00), Specialty donuts (More S'mores, Orange Nightmare-sicle, Watermelon Man, Very Berry Lychee, Loud 'N Proud, Quite the Matcha; $4.00–$5.00), Donut Holes (sold in packs of 4 for $1.00), and Donut Boxes (Half Dozen $18–$33, Dozen $36–$66, in Classic, Mixed, Specialty, or Dubai varieties). Targeted at individual consumers seeking creative, globally-inspired flavors.
• Montreal-Style Bagels Artisanal bagels baked fresh every morning in flavors including Everything, Plain, Rosemary Sea Salt, Sesame, Za'atar, Jalapeno, Poppy Seed, Jalapeno Cheddar, and Black Sesame. Available individually at $2.75 or in bulk (Half Dozen $12.00, Dozen $24.00). Cream cheese add-ons available in 14 varieties (Plain, Vegan Plain, Garlic Herb, Vegan Garlic Fine Herb, Blueberry, Vegan Blueberry, Pickle, Vegan Pickle, Sun-Dried Tomato, Vegan Sun-Dried Tomato, Calabrian Pimento, Vegan Calabrian Pimento, Bacon Bit, Dill Caper) in 2oz and 8oz sizes for $1.50–$2.50 add-on. All bagels are naturally vegan. Targeted at individual consumers and B.Y.O.B. (Build Your Own Bagel) customers.
• Sandwiches (Sandos) Breakfast and lunch sandwiches served on bagels, including Classic Sandwiches (Basic B, The Jerzee, Dirty Diego, Buenos Dias, Hash & Ham, BLAT, Salmon Gravlax, Tamago; $10.50–$15.50) and Specialty Sandwiches (Karaage & Kimchi, Black & Blue, BBB, Jalapeno Poppin', Bodega Chopped Cheese, Island Boii 2.0, Veggie Delite; $14.00–$16.00). Targeted at consumers seeking globally-inspired sandwich fare.
• Vegan Menu Dedicated plant-based menu including Vegan Beet Gravlax, Vegan Buenos Dias, Vegan T.L.A.T, Vegan Egg & Cheeze, Vegan Tamago, Snozzberries, Vegan Bodega Chopped Cheese, Vegan Karaage & Kimchi, and Vegan BBB sandwiches ($11.50–$15.00), plus vegan bagels, vegan cream cheese varieties, and vegan donuts. Targeted at vegan and vegetarian diners, and those with allergy or dietary restrictions.
• Burritos & Tacos Mexican-inspired menu items including Burro Vegano, Vegan Crunchwrap, Dirty Diego Burrito, Tacos Locos, and Buenos Dias Tacos, priced at $7.00–$11.00. Targeted at consumers seeking globally-inspired savory brunch and lunch options.
• Coffee & Specialty Drinks Beverage menu featuring espresso drinks (Espresso, Americano, Cortado, Cappuccino, Flat White, Latte; $4.00–$7.00), cold brew, Vietnamese Cold Brew, Mocha, Mexican Mocha, Turmeric Latte, plus teas and lemonades. Coffee is sourced from Steady State Roasting Co. (Bakers Blend drip coffee). Targeted at coffee and tea consumers.
• Alcoholic Beverages
• Sides
• Catering Services Catering and wholesale services for special events, corporate gatherings, private parties, and office meetings featuring the cafe's artisanal donuts, Montreal-style bagels, and sandwiches. Inquiries are accepted via a form on the website. Targeted at event hosts, corporate event coordinators, and wholesale buyers in the San Diego area.
• Digital Gift Cards Digital gift cards available in denominations ranging from $5 to $500, purchased and delivered via email through the company website. Targeted at individual gift buyers seeking a present for friends, family, or colleagues.
• Branded Merchandise

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Toast TabcoreTechnology or IntegrationNomad Donuts uses Toast Tab's restaurant platform for point-of-sale operations, online ordering, website hosting, email marketing, and payment processing. The website and ordering systems are powered by Toast Tab infrastructure.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Specialty coffee roaster with cafe locations, comparable to Nomad's coffee program and cafe retail model, though with a coffee-primary rather than donut/bagel focus.
• Philz Coffee: Bay Area-rooted specialty coffee chain with a small multi-unit cafe footprint; comparable single-category specialization and cafe model in the broader West Coast market.

Direct peers

• Voodoo Doughnut: Iconic Portland-originated artisan donut chain with creative flavors and cult following; comparable product positioning and expansion approach to Nomad's ambitions.
• Blue Star Donuts: West Coast (Portland/Vancouver) artisan donut brand with a small multi-location footprint and chef-driven flavors; comparable concept scale and premium positioning to Nomad.
• Duck Donuts: Franchised specialty donut chain offering made-to-order, customizable donuts; represents the scaled-format peer that Nomad could aspire to as it pursues multi-unit growth.
• Doughnut Plant: NYC-based artisanal donut shop known for inventive flavors and small-batch production; closely mirrors Nomad's chef-driven, high-quality approach.
• Donut Bar: San Diego-based, single-location artisan donut shop famous for oversize creative donuts; directly competes with Nomad in the same metro and product category.
• Sidecar Doughnuts: Southern California-based artisan doughnut shop and cafe offering small-batch, creative flavors; the closest geographic and concept-level peer to Nomad Donuts, with a similar premium, chef-driven menu.

Broad incumbents

• Einstein Bros Bagels: National bagel-focused cafe chain; competes with Nomad's Montreal-style bagel and sandwich program and provides a benchmark for scaled bagel-cafe operations.
• Krispy Kreme: National mass-market donut chain with broad retail distribution; operates at a different scale but defines the price-quality reference point for the donut category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nomad Donuts