According to RJ Pangelinan, Denver’s late-night food scene is desperately lacking — and he would know.
Pangelinan is an electronic music producer — stage name Bear Grillz — who has performed at popular venues throughout the Mile High City. He’s also a Denver resident, and after an evening spent throwing down dubstep beats for crowds at Red Rocks Amphitheatre or Mission Ballroom, he typically works up an appetite.
“Every time I’m done we want to eat food and all that’s open is pizza. I love pizza, but you get tired of that,” Pangelinan said.
Seeing a hole in the market, Pangelinan will soon cross-fade into the culinary space with help from fellow EDM artist Michael Stryer and local chef Tom Coohill. In November, the trio will roll out the Electric Donut Factory, a new food truck geared toward satisfying late-night cravings with doughnut sandwiches.
You read that right — sandwiches with glazed and flavored doughnuts acting as the bread.
The idea came from Pangelinan and Stryer, who sought to bring Denver bites that aren’t as widely available as, say, pizza, tacos, and ramen. Stryer, who performs under his last name, described the food concept as “a combo that makes sense.” But when the duo first pitched hospitality veteran Coohill on the idea, his first reaction was, “Sounds crazy.”
“Then we started testing some stuff out and it turned out this stuff was pretty good,” said Coohill, who got to know Pangelinan personally over the years as a patron of his restaurant, Coohills. “I think people love the sweet and savory part of food.”
The Electric Donut Factory will start with a small menu of three sandwiches and one side. The first is a fried chicken sandwich with chipotle mayo on glazed doughnut buns, the second is a burger between glazed doughnuts, and the third features bacon, egg and cheese on cinnamon doughnuts. Folks who are still hungry can opt for a side of loaded tater tots.
Expect the sandwiches to be “gourmet, but accessible,” Stryer said. Coohill, who also owns a coffee shop called Frank & Roze, is helping work out the kitchen’s logistics to ensure the food is made to order and served fresh. The trio plans to expand the menu in the future.
The first chance for Denverites to get a taste will be on Nov. 3, when Electric Donut Factory comes to Kulture Music Hall (1600 Federal Blvd.) near Empower Field. Pangelinan is curating a lineup of Colorado-based DJs to celebrate the launch and plans to invite his nearly 300,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok followers to join the party.
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That will also be a test run for the future of the business. Pangelinan plans to bring the truck to other concert venues and music festivals around the country where he’s on the bill in hopes his fans will also become customers. The appeal is undeniable since rocking out burns calories, and music lovers often already support their favorite artists by purchasing merch.
Even the name Electric Donut Factory, or EDF, is a subtle nod to electronic dance music and other events like Electric Daisy Carnival.
Eventually, Pangelinan wants a fleet of doughnut-slinging food trucks to cover touring hot spots before transitioning the brand into a brick-and-mortar location. The first one will be in Denver, he promised.
“We’re really excited to get this out to everyone in Denver and then eventually around the rest of the world,” said Stryer. “I can’t think of a better place to launch it than Denver, a city that’s so receptive to new ideas and (has) such a fun culture for this kind of product.”