Fractured Prune Returns to Denver After Ten-Month Absence

The closure of Fractured Prune Doughnuts at 4090 East Mississippi Avenue last year left a hole in the hearts of many Denver doughnut lovers, but the Maryland-based company didn't stay away from Colorado for long. A new franchise owner, Mark Rothermel, has reopened Fractured Prune at a new location, 9696A East Arapahoe Road in Greenwood Village.

The premise is still the same: Cake-style doughnuts are fried to order and topped with a selection of glazes and sprinkles. Customers can select from about a dozen topping combos, or they can choose their own. "One thing we're doing different is we're simplifying the menu with customer favorites," Rothermel notes.

His shop will also rotate in seasonal specials and will offer by-the-box pricing for two, six or twelve doughnuts. And for those who have trouble making up their minds, there will be a package of a dozen doughnuts with a pre-set variety of bestsellers. They'll still be made fresh, but this package will save customers time in line and at the counter.

Since doughnuts wouldn't be the same without coffee, Fractured Prune is serving hot and cold coffee drinks (including nitro cold brew) from Colorado's own Whiskey Barrel Coffee.

Rothermel runs a Fractured Prune franchise out of Las Vegas, but was not the original owner of the Mississippi Avenue spot (though he came in to help close that one last spring). While there are no immediate plans for another location, the owner says, "We love the Denver market, and we want to expand our footprint across the Colorado market."

The new Fractured Prune is currently in soft-opening mode at Arapahoe and South Dayton Street, but will hold its grand-opening party on Thursday, February 15, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Each customer that day will receive one free OC Sand doughnut (a bestseller topped with honey glaze and cinnamon sugar). The first ten people in line that morning will receive a dozen doughnuts a week for a year (with a limit of one person per household, so no yanking the kids out of school for extra prizes).

While the backstory of how Fractured Prune got its name might be called "fake news" by today's standards (you can read the history on the company's website), it's enough to say that the moniker is ridiculously memorable.