Top Pot Doughnuts

Top Pot Doughnuts is a Seattle-area doughnut and coffee café brand founded by brothers Mark Klebeck and Michael Klebeck in February 2002. The business began in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood and developed a regional identity around hand-forged doughnuts, coffee, and cafés designed to provide a distinctive local alternative to standardized chain formats. Its name originated with a vintage neon sign from a boarded-up Chinese restaurant called “Topspot.” After the brothers acquired the sign, the letter “S” fell off while it was being transported; they replaced the missing letter with a coffee pot, creating the Top Pot name and visual identity. The brand's core offer consists of doughnuts made from its own recipes and coffee roasted by the company, including roasting at its Fifth Avenue Seattle location. Top Pot operates cafés primarily across the Puget Sound region. According to the cited reference material, it had 17 cafés as of November 16, 2023. Production is concentrated at its downtown Seattle and Bellevue locations, with doughnuts transported by truck to other regional cafés. This operating model allows the company to maintain centralized production while supporting a broader retail footprint. Top Pot has also expanded beyond its cafés. Its doughnut recipes are used for products sold in more than 7,000 Starbucks stores in the United States and Canada, and Top Pot doughnuts have been distributed through QFC and other grocery channels. Beginning in 2011, the brand expanded grocery offerings into Washington, Oregon, and California. These arrangements extended Top Pot's reach beyond its owned cafés while keeping the brand associated with its Seattle origins. The company has pursued sports and venue partnerships as part of its regional visibility. Top Pot became the official doughnut and coffee of the National Lacrosse League's Washington Stealth in 2011. Its doughnuts are also identified as the official doughnut at Lumen Field, the Seattle venue associated with the Seahawks and Seattle Sounders FC. Such partnerships position the brand as a locally rooted food provider connected with Seattle civic and sporting culture. Top Pot has received notable public attention through visits by prominent figures. In October 2010, then-President Barack Obama and Senator Patty Murray stopped at the company's Fifth Avenue location during a Seattle visit. In January 2011, Seattle mayor Mike McGinn included a dozen Top Pot maple bars in a wager with New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu over an NFL playoff game. The brand's recipes and approach were further documented in the 2011 cookbook Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts: Secrets and Recipes for the Home Baker, written by Mark Klebeck, Michael Klebeck, and Michael Thomson. Top Pot's present identity is therefore built on four connected elements: Seattle provenance, handcrafted doughnuts, coffee expertise, and regional distribution through cafés, grocery retailers, institutional partners, and sports venues.

Top Pot Doughnuts was established in February 2002 by Seattle brothers Mark Klebeck and Michael Klebeck. The first business was launched in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, placing the company within Seattle's independent café and food culture. The brand's name came from a salvaged neon sign originally associated with a boarded-up Chinese restaurant called “Topspot.” During transport, the sign lost its “S”; the brothers replaced it with a coffee-pot symbol, producing the Top Pot name. From the beginning, the business combined doughnuts with coffee rather than operating solely as a bakery counter. Its doughnuts became associated with hand-forged preparation, while the company also developed in-house coffee roasting, including roasting at its Fifth Avenue location in Seattle. The combination of doughnuts, coffee, and distinctive café environments helped establish Top Pot as a recognizable local brand. The company subsequently developed a regional operating model. Doughnuts were made at its downtown Seattle and Bellevue facilities and moved by truck to other cafés in the Puget Sound region. This centralized production approach supported expansion while keeping manufacturing concentrated in a small number of locations. The reference material records 17 cafés across the Puget Sound region as of November 16, 2023. Top Pot's growth also included distribution outside its own cafés. Its recipes were used for doughnuts sold in more than 7,000 Starbucks stores in the United States and Canada. The company also supplied or supported doughnut sales through QFC and other grocery channels. Beginning in 2011, Top Pot expanded grocery offerings into Washington, Oregon, and California, moving the brand from a primarily café-based business toward a broader regional retail presence. Partnerships became another part of the company's development. In 2011, Top Pot was named the official doughnut and coffee of the Washington Stealth of the National Lacrosse League. The brand's doughnuts are also the official doughnut at Lumen Field, a major Seattle sports venue used by the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders FC. These affiliations reinforced Top Pot's connection with Seattle and the wider Puget Sound community. The company gained additional public exposure through high-profile local events. During a Seattle visit in October 2010, President Barack Obama and Senator Patty Murray stopped at the Fifth Avenue café. In January 2011, Seattle mayor Mike McGinn included a dozen Top Pot maple bars in a friendly wager with New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu over an NFL NFC Wild Card game. The brand's methods and recipes were published in 2011 in Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts: Secrets and Recipes for the Home Baker, authored by Mark Klebeck, Michael Klebeck, and Michael Thomson. Together, these developments trace Top Pot's evolution from a Capitol Hill start-up into a regional doughnut-and-coffee brand with cafés, wholesale relationships, grocery distribution, venue partnerships, and a published culinary identity.

• 2023

  Regional café network reaches 17 locations

  [1]Top Pot Doughnutsen.wikipedia.org

  The cited reference reports 17 Top Pot cafés across the Puget Sound region as of November 16, 2023.

• 2011

  Top Pot publishes a doughnut cookbook

  [1]Top Pot Doughnutsen.wikipedia.org

  Mark Klebeck, Michael Klebeck, and Michael Thomson publish a book presenting Top Pot recipes and methods for home bakers.

• 2011

  Grocery distribution expands

  [1]Top Pot Doughnutsen.wikipedia.org

  Top Pot extends grocery-channel offerings into Washington, Oregon, and California, including QFC.

• 2011

  Washington Stealth partnership begins

  [1]Top Pot Doughnutsen.wikipedia.org

  Top Pot becomes the official doughnut and coffee of the National Lacrosse League's Washington Stealth.

• 2010

  Barack Obama visits a Top Pot café

  [1]Top Pot Doughnutsen.wikipedia.org

  Barack Obama and Senator Patty Murray stop at the Fifth Avenue location during Obama's October Seattle visit.

• 2002

  Top Pot Doughnuts is founded in Seattle

  [1]Top Pot Doughnutsen.wikipedia.org

  Brothers Mark and Michael Klebeck start the doughnut and coffee business in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.

A Seattle-rooted, handcrafted doughnut and coffee brand combining neighborhood cafés with regional retail, grocery, venue, and licensing distribution.

• Doughnuts · 2002

  Hand-forged doughnuts

  Top Pot's central product line consists of doughnuts prepared according to the company's own recipes and presented as hand-forged, emphasizing small-batch craftsmanship and the brand's Seattle café identity. Production is concentrated at the downtown Seattle and Bellevue locations before products are transported to other regional cafés. The recipes are also used in doughnuts distributed through Starbucks and grocery channels.

• Doughnuts

  Maple bars

  Maple bars are one of Top Pot's recognizable doughnut offerings and have featured in the brand's public profile, including a dozen maple bars used in a 2011 wager by Seattle mayor Mike McGinn. They represent the company's traditional, indulgent bakery positioning and are sold through the café network and relevant distribution channels.

• Coffee · 2002

  House-roasted coffee

  Coffee is a core companion offering across Top Pot cafés. The company roasts its own coffee, with roasting associated with its Fifth Avenue Seattle location. Coffee helps define Top Pot as a combined coffeehouse and doughnut café rather than a doughnut-only retailer.

• 2011Washington Stealth official partnership

  Seattle area · United States

  Top Pot partnered with the National Lacrosse League's Washington Stealth as the team's official doughnut and coffee provider.

  Outcome. The partnership connected the brand with professional sports and strengthened its regional Seattle-area visibility.

  Source
• Lumen Field official doughnut partnership

  Seattle area · United States

  Top Pot doughnuts became the official doughnut at Lumen Field, the Seattle venue associated with the Seahawks and Sounders FC.

  Outcome. The venue relationship expanded Top Pot's exposure among Seattle sports audiences.

  Source

• 2011

  Expand beyond cafés through grocery distributionStrategy

  Background

  Top Pot sought to make its doughnuts available outside its café locations and build a broader regional retail presence.

  Action taken

  The company expanded grocery offerings into Washington, Oregon, and California, including distribution through QFC.

  Aftermath

  The move broadened Top Pot's geographic reach beyond its owned cafés; the cited material does not provide financial results.

  Source

• 2011

  Extend recipe reach through StarbucksStrategy

  Background

  Top Pot developed a channel partnership allowing its doughnut recipes to reach customers through another major coffee retailer.

  Action taken

  Top Pot recipes were used for doughnuts sold in more than 7,000 Starbucks stores in the United States and Canada.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement gave Top Pot national cross-border retail exposure beyond its Puget Sound café base.

  Source

1. 1Top Pot Doughnutsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Top Pot Doughnuts official websitetoppotdoughnuts.com