Couples’ interests join in unlikely pairing: Donuts & Ammo

Victoria Di Biase discovered baking was a “good outlet” as Covid hit shortly after her and husband, Paul, returned to their roots in the Montrose area after years of living in Maryland.

Using a family friend’s donut recipe as a starting point, Victoria made some adjustments, tweaking it for months until she landed on the perfect ingredient blend. “My parents and family gained weight in the process,” she joked.

Paul, a software developer, wanted to take advantage of rural living and be able to spend a day shooting – but ammunition shortages and high costs kept him from doing that.

Only a few hours into a cross country drive, the couple’s venture began to take shape, as Paul told Victoria he wanted to open an ammo shop, using software he developed to source the hard-to-find items at a good price.

“If you get to do something fun, I get to do something fun, too,” Victoria says she told Paul.

And the plan to combine their interests into a business formed the creation of Donuts & Ammo.

The shop, located along Route 29 between Franklin Forks and Liberty, opened in October 2021, at the former site of a mini-golf course that has been shuttered for years.

“We would drive by and think about what could be there,” Paul said. After they developed their business plan, they contacted the owners who agreed to provide the space to them.

“We keep true to the Donuts & Ammo name,” Victoria said, with donuts as the main offering, but with some “spin-off” items – like donut pops (like cake pops only made with donuts), and some cookies – especially coconut macaroons.

She started with standard donut offerings: plain, chocolate frosted, glazed, toasted coconut (Victoria’s favorite), and Peanut (because those are hard to find. From there, the flavors have evolved, with the addition of maple bacon, apple pie, brown sugar oat and more.

“It’s been a crazy ride,” Victoria said and Paul describes it as “a life-changing business.”

The first-time business owners are finding other local business owners have been helpful. And the donuts have found there way across the county to the coffeeshop, Erie & Main, in Susquehanna Depot.

On the ammo side, the business has a federal firearms license, which allows Paul to buy at wholesale prices. “Every Friday and Saturday, customers clean me out,” he said.

An advance order form for donuts and bakery items is available on the website, as is a current ammo list, www.donutsandammo.com.