"2"^^ . "5"^^ . "2"^^ . . "3"^^ . "2016-09-07T00:00:00"^^ . . "I'd heard so many great things about Suarez from my wife, who grew up in Charlotte, and has shared with me many stories of this fabulous bakery's delicious treats. She says she can't remember a time when Suarez wasn't around so this bakery has had a long history of pleasing Charlotte's sweet tooth but I had never gotten the chance to go. It just so happens that my very first visit to Suarez bakery occurred on my favorite day of the year: National Doughnut Day! So, okay, maybe it's not my FAVORITE day; after all, there's my birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Stevie Wonder's birthday, Beyonce's birthday, the first day of Fall etc etc. But you get the point....I JUST LOVE DOUGHNUTS....so it goes without saying that I just had to have one on NDD. \n\nWhen we arrived and checked in I was blown away by how cute the little bakery was. From the outside, Suarez seemed like a typical and old school mom and pop bake-shoppe but on the inside you could tell it had been renovated and modernized. My favorite feature of the bakery by far was the large window at the front left side of the shop through which you can see smiling employees lovingly crafting sweet treats for the lucky customers. I stopped and stared for a minute and saw cakes being decorated, cookies being sprinkled and dough being kneaded--very cool! \n\nLike most bakeries, in honor of NDD, Suarez was offering one FREE doughnut per customer and what could be more sweet than that? However, when we arrived they were currently completely out of doughnuts, bummer! I had to fight hard to block the tears especially when I thought of all the other bakeries we'd passed on the way to Suarez that had lines wrapped around the building with everyone wanting their free doughnut. I started to second guess my love for doughnuts...did I want it THAT bad? Yep, yep, I definitely did. On the bright side, an employee informed us that if we gave them 20mins they would have a fresh batch available.YES! Spirits renewed and even more excited about the prospect of super fresh, warm doughnuts in under half an hour, we left the shop and walked down to Caribou which is a few doors down from Suarez. (There are several other shops in the complex that offer a variety of goods and services from food to clothing, to sports items and more. Plus there's a movie theater right across the street)\n\nAfter EXACTLY 20 minutes, (was I timing it? of course I was timing it...Are fresh doughnuts a JOKE to you? huh?), we marched back down to Suarez and picked up our free doughnuts (plain glazed which are my favorite). We also picked up a few cupcakes (my wife's favorite) and a slice of cake. The smell of the doughnuts alone was enough to make my head spin but once I bit into one, I was in HEAVEN. It was perfectly light and airy but also chewy and hearty. Can a doughnut be hearty? Yes it can if by \"hearty\" you mean that even though the doughnut was light and airy, it wasn't flimsy; it was a good size portion size. Get it? You could totally just eat one and be satisfied.I mean I don't know why anyone would just stop at one, that's silly, but I'm saying you definitely could. \n\nAs far as the doughnuts go, Suarez definitely ROSE to the occasion. (See what I did there?) But The other items we purchased were also very tasty and you better believe that the next time I'm in Charlotte, Suarez will be one of my first stops!"^^ . .