Matt Derr and Ted Fitzpatrick were college friends at Carnegie Mellon, where they studied engineering. After graduating, they headed into high-stress jobs; Derr in civil engineering and Fitzpatrick in mechanical engineering. Now, they both want a new career, one that is fun and unique. So, the duo just opened a Yonutz franchise in Bonita Springs. “We are here to sell fun,” Fitzpatrick said. “There is no fun in engineering. It is a lot of stress. This changes things up. It’s just a fun family brand.”
Yonutz signature dishes are smashed donuts and smashed milkshakes. Both combine donuts and ice cream with an array of toppings.
They sell smashed donuts with names like Birthday Cake, which is ice cream wedged between donuts, topped with blue vanilla drizzle, confetti sprinkles and Little Debbie Birthday Cake. Kinder Bueno has vanilla ice cream, Kinder Bueno bar smashed, topped with Nutella drizzle and chopped Oreo. Pebble Rebel has strawberry ice cream topped with vanilla drizzle and cereal. S’moreo has Oreo ice cream topped with chocolate drizzle, graham cracker dust and mini marshmallows. Chocolate brownie is chocolate ice cream topped with chocolate drizzle, brownie bits and M&Ms.
Yonutz’s best seller nationwide is Nutella Crunch, which features cookie dough ice cream topped with Nutella drizzle, chopped Oreo and butter crunch pieces. That combination was the 2023 Dessert Wars national champion. Another big seller is Biscoff Cookie Butter that showcases vanilla ice cream, cookie butter and Biscoff cookies topped with salted caramel and Biscoff cookie crumb. There are 12 smashed donuts all with amusing names and a unique mix of ingredients. The milkshakes are also popular and feature a mini donut inside and on top, along with an array of mixed-in ingredients…