Santa Clara’s much-loved Stan’s Donuts are now available in San Jose

You wake up in San Jose. A Stan’s Donut or two would be great for breakfast. But it’s early, and it’s dark, and you’d have to drive to Santa Clara to buy them.

Frank Nguyen is here to help.

The owner of Academic Coffee, he sensed the need for doughnuts in downtown San Jose — good doughnuts. And Stan’s has had the reputation for some of the best yeast-raised glazed doughnuts in the valley since 1959.

“I really wanted to offer something delicious, high quality, and comforting at a good price point for our customers here, which is where I came up with the idea to offer Stan’s Donuts,” he said, adding that he’s been a longtime fan of Stan’s and often grabs a dozen to thank his employees at the shop.

So he got in touch with Stan’s, and co-owner Julie Clark signed on right away, noting that they share the same business ethos.

“We have done this kind of collaboration before; however, we are very selective about who we work with,” she said. “We like Academic Coffee and their great quality, combined with their mom-and-pop style, grassroots-type business, because we are the same. Both of us are community-minded as well.”

To cover his costs, Nguyen said he has to charge more than they do in Santa Clara. “But a lot of our customers are local downtown residents and workers who normally wouldn’t have time to make that trip.”

Now, while you sleep in, he’s getting up at 5:30 a.m. and driving to Santa Clara to pick up a batch at 6 each morning for Academic.

But you can’t sleep too late if you want a good selection of Stan’s best.

Details: Academic Coffee opens at 7 a.m. daily at 499 S. Second St., San Jose. Stan’s Donuts opens at 6 a.m. daily at 2628 Homestead Road, Santa Clara.