New doughnut shop to open in Greenville’s Overbrook neighborhood

Listen to this article

You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy doughnuts — and that’s kind of the same thing.

Scout’s Doughnuts — which will feature many-layered doughnuts — is slated to open its brick-and-mortar location in Greenville’s Overbrook neighborhood on June 1.

The first of its kind, which will be located at 1700 E. North St., carries the tagline “sweeter together,” to remind customers they can find nostalgia and a sense of community when they walk into Scout’s.

Ryland and J.P. Rainsford launched straight into corporate careers after college and quickly decided two things: their vocations should be a purposeful and meaningful part of our lives, and they want to do as much life together as possible with each other and their kids.

Fast forward eight years, and they were still trying to figure out what that meant for them. For several years they had known that they wanted to shape a business for themselves, and given the opportunity to do that, they wanted their future business to meet certain criteria:

• Be something their whole family could participate in
• Cultivate growth in the lives of their team and communities, and the life of their city
• Foster relationships, because growth doesn’t happen alone

“One of the things we are really excited about is being a part of the Overbrook neighborhood, not just be a destination but a part of the community versus being on Main Street and a tourist attraction,” said Ryland Rainsford.

Rainsford said the space was ideal for their needs — the right size with good bones that needed no structural changes.

“Pretty much any old restaurant could have that, but what’s special about this specific location is being in a walkable location in an established neighborhood,” he added. “We love the idea of people being able to walk from their home to our shop. That is very appealing to us.”

Scout’s doughnuts are not made with traditional yeast and they are not cake style. They are croissant-style doughnuts, which are different from traditional expectations of what a doughnut should be, said Rainsford.

“We don’t refer to them as cronuts, because we want people to feel the nostalgia of the American classic doughnut but also intrigue them on the layers ours have,” he added. “Then when they actually experience one, they are blown away by how different it is in texture and form. We try to make as many original and interesting flavors as possible, with a little bit of a twist to keep toppings interesting and at top quality.”

However, the real product Scout’s is striving to create is connection between individuals, which is the most meaningful product to them — fostering shared experiences through their physical product.

“That’s what our real work is and the growth those connections create,” said Rainsford.

They want their patrons to feel welcome, kind of like a kid again in some ways, like they are celebrating something while enjoying their doughnuts and time with others.

“We really believe that food brings people together, and we hope that connection is something they feel when they come into our space, that people feel this is theirs and a part of their community and experience, even their story,” said Rainsford. “This is not a cookie-cutter atmosphere, but something people can relate to and to have a connection with the people here on a personal level.”

The Rainsfords say not to feel guilty about enjoying something sweet at Scout’s. They believe health is larger than simply eating nutritional foods — that enjoying something sweet every once in a while can be good for your mental health and for a balanced lifestyle.