Christine Nordstrom has heard every joke about the name Five-O Donut Co., and she still leans into it. Her "Arrestingly Good Donuts" now come from six locations, with a seventh in the works, a footprint that puts her among the more visible food entrepreneurs to come out of Sarasota in recent years.
She doesn't sugarcoat how hard the donut business actually is. Christine walks through the highs and lows of a career in food service, and why the margins and logistics of donuts specifically make the niche brutal for anyone who underestimates it. Early hours, thin margins on a product that has to move fast, and a crowded field of competitors all factor into why so many donut shops don't last. Five-O's growth from one location to six is the exception, not the rule.
Much of the credit, in her telling, goes to building a real relationship with customers rather than just selling a product. She built out a rewards program and an online presence that turned casual buyers into regulars, and the hosts press her on the specifics of how she thinks about marketing a small food brand in a market like Sarasota, where new options open constantly.
More Than Donuts
The episode also gets personal. Christine talks candidly about her own health journey, connecting the discipline it took to change her habits with the discipline it takes to run a growing food business. It's a side of the Five-O Donut Co. story that doesn't show up in the marketing.
The "Arrestingly Good Donuts" tagline isn't just a pun for the sake of the name. Christine talks through how leaning into the Five-O branding, playful, memorable, easy to put on merchandise and social posts, helped the shop stand out in a Sarasota food scene where a new bakery or coffee concept seems to open every month. She's equally candid about what didn't work early on, the mistakes that come with opening multiple locations faster than a smaller operation is usually built to handle, and how she course-corrected.
As always, the hosts steer things back to Sarasota, and Christine gives her verdict on the city's roundabouts, closing out an episode that's as much about resilience as it is about donuts.
What you'll take away
- Five-O Donut Co. has grown to six Sarasota-area locations with a seventh planned
- Christine Nordstrom credits a customer rewards program and a strong online presence for the brand's growth
- Thin margins and long hours make the donut business one of the harder food-service niches to succeed in
- Christine shares her personal health journey alongside the business story