Specialty Kora Donuts (Instagram @fromkora)
Aug. 9, 2024 By Shane O’Brien and Czarinna Andres
A popular pop-up bakery known for its luxurious doughnuts with a Filipino twist is set to open a permanent location in Sunnyside.
Kora has signed a lease at 45-12 Greenpoint Avenue and aims to open by the end of the year.
Founders Kimberly Camara and Kevin Borja posted the announcement on their Instagram page last month. “We are so excited to announce that Kora will be opening its very first brick-and-mortar store this year!” said the Instagram post.
The 2,100-square-foot space was previously a dining hall and frozen yogurt shop. It will now include seating for up to 24 customers, allowing for more spontaneity and a fuller customer experience.
The new space will employ around ten staff and will open six days a week, Camara said.
Kora’s popular doughnuts will remain a staple, but the bakery plans to expand its menu to include laminated pastries infused with Kora’s signature Filipino flair and flavors representing Queens.
The bakery is named after Camara’s grandmother, and many recipes, like the best-selling flan doughnut, are inspired by her legacy.
Camara and Borja, who were both laid off from jobs in the hospitality sector at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, began making doughnuts in their Woodside apartment using a recipe book passed down by Camara’s grandmother, who died in January of the same year.
Co-founders of KORA Kimberly Camara and Kevin Borja
Camara had initially hoped to pay homage to her late grandmother by hosting tasting dinners at her apartment using her grandmother’s recipes but was forced to change trajectory when Covid hit.
“I wanted to use some of her recipes to create tasting dinners from my apartment,” Camara said. “But Covid changed the trajectory of that project, and I tried to figure out a different way – and it was through these donuts.”
Within months of launching, Eater reported a waitlist of 800 people, which grew to 10,000 by 2021. The duo moved to various commercial kitchens and currently produce doughnuts in a Sunnyside kitchen, with pick-ups at Alewife Brewing.
“The demand had a life of its own,” she said. “Over time, we eventually went into a commissary kitchen to produce more to meet the demand.
“Times were very different during the pandemic. People would trek their way into these kinds of unknown parts of Queens to procure a very elusive box of pastries.”
As pandemic restrictions eased, however, Camara said she noticed that many customers were asking for a more traditional store model.
“Right now, we’re only providing our products on Saturdays, and it’s very limiting for people who want to order something throughout the week,” she said, adding that the timing “felt right” to open a brick-and-mortar location.
Camara and Borja envision their bakery as a community hub, offering coffee, doughnuts, and breakfast sandwiches and filling the gap left by Alpha Donuts’ closure last year. They considered opening a storefront in Manhattan but chose to remain in Queens, where they’ve built a loyal following.
“We’ve never done delivery. It’s always been people picking up from us, so it’s exciting for us to be able to offer more accessibility to the people who already frequent us. But on top of that, something that we loved about Sunnyside when we first were checking out spaces was just how strong and tight-knit the community is.”
Camara said she plans to explore keeping the store open late in the evening as a dessert spot. She added that she also hopes to offer classes teaching people how to make some of the pastries at the bakery.
She said Kora started out using traditional Filipino recipes but has since started fusing Filipino and American cuisines to pay homage to her shared Filipino and American heritage.
“I grew up here in New York, and I’m always taking not only from my Filipino side but also the traditions that I’ve grown up with as a Filipino American,” she said, stating that she is always keen to infuse local produce into Kora’s pastries.
Classic fried brioche filled with tart compote made from local peaches and jasmine (sampaguita)-steeped cream. (Instagram @fromkora)
Camara pointed to a new peaches and cream pastry that is heavily influenced by her American upbringing but also features jasmine-infused cream, paying tribute to her Filipino roots.
“I’m still integrating a little bit of both cultures in things that I’m developing, and I try to hold on to that as I continue to go through the creative process.”
She said Kora will operate a seasonal menu, with certain menu items rotating every three or four months.
The Sunnyside location will serve as a flagship hub for production, with plans to expand to other outposts in the future.
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