It started with a craving. Seven years ago Leigh Kellis wanted a homemade doughnut. But she didn’t like any options around her, so she started making doughnuts in her kitchen on Munjoy Hill in Portland. Once she came up with a recipe she liked (using Maine potatoes), she started supplying them to Coffee by Design on Washington Avenue. At first, she sold the coffee shop 12 doughnuts a day. Less than a year later, Kellis opened the first Holy Donut retail location on Park Avenue with the help of her father, Allan, who co-owned the business and died in 2017. The following year she opened another store in the Old Port, and in 2017 she expanded to Scarborough, both with her brother-in-law, Jeff Buckwalter, along with support from other family and staff. “I never imagined the three shops. I never imagined the Scarborough location with a drive-through. That’s kind of a dream come true,” Kellis says. “I was thinking a little hole-in-the-wall on Munjoy Hill, making doughnuts, and it just kind of took on a life of its own.” The business now has about 75 employees, and gives back to the community by providing paid time off for workers who do specific charitable work and making a donation to a community nonprofit each year. “I absolutely love doughnuts. And I love the nostalgia of a doughnut shop,” Kellis says. “I think it is comforting and a must-have in the community. There are lots of things in