If you work or live in Westchester, chances are you've seen the vinyl off the windows at Mojo Donuts & Fried Chicken. You'll have to wait a few more days for a chance to finally sample the shop's unique doughnuts.
The 1,600-square-foot restaurant and shop, located at 8870 Bird Rd., is still in the finalization stages, according to partner Jimmy Piedrahita. "We're still training staff and getting our coffeemaker and ice-maker in." He says yesterday was the first time the fryers were fired up at the new location.
Piedrahita, who partnered with Willie Muñoz, along with Mojo founders Shawn and Shelly Neifeld, says the Westchester location is larger and more state-of-the-art than the original Hollywood location. "Wait until you see the store!" he exclaims, which is equipped with four digital menus. The restaurant and shop also boast pure-fiber internet, which gives guests immediate Wi-Fi access. The doughnut case, a good five feet longer than the original, is made from ultra-clear Starphire glass, so not even glare gets in the way of your view of the array of goodies to choose from.
Speaking of goodies, expect as many of 60 varieties from Mojo's extensive roster of 200 recipes. For now, the Westchester location will start with 30 crowd favorites — top sellers at the Hollywood shop.
Some examples include guava and cheese, slutty brownie (made with real brownie pieces), a maple bacon log, Deco Delight (a banana-cream-filled doughnut with fresh berries and chocolate drizzle), and Death by Chocolate, which Piedrahita deems a "chocolate overload" of everything chocolate in the shop's recipe book.
Prices start at $1.49 for a fancy variety, which the doughnut maven calls a bargain. "Our doughnut prices are extremely favorable. We're probably the least expensive product that's been praised nationally. We don't want to sell a doughnut that's $6. We want to keep this for locals. We're extremely adamant about that."
The shop will also sell coffee from All Coffee, a local private-label coffeehouse that provides beans to Versailles, La Carreta, and other local favorites. "We wanted to offer a very good brand of coffee that's home-based," Piedrahita says. "It's extremely high-quality and well loved, especially in our neighborhood." In addition, a full line of Coca-Cola products will be offered, including Mexican Coke.
Fried chicken will roll out in early 2017, according to the Mojo partner. Final tweaks are being made to the recipe, and the date for the chicken launch will be announced shortly.
Mojo will open for friends and family this weekend. Beginning Friday, December 9, the shop will produce about half its normal inventory at the time but will be closed to the general public.
Monday, December 12, through Friday, December 16, Mojo will host a preview for loyal customers who signed up on its website. They will be offered a 25 percent discount during the preview. According to Piedrahita, thousands of doughnut lovers signed up for the mailing list and offer.
The morning of Saturday, December 17, Mojo Donuts & Fried Chicken will officially open to the public. A grand-opening celebration is also being planned in the coming weeks.
Mojo Donuts & Fried Chicken will be open seven days a week from 6 a.m. until the doughnuts sell out.