By Kristy Graver
OC Today

In September, after more than a year of paperwork and legal maneuvering, the state of Maryland gave owners Sandy Tylor, her daughter Colleen Kaufman and son-in-law Tad Kaufman, approval to franchise their business. The first satellite location opened in Deale, Md., last fall and residents of West Ocean City, Md. and Rehoboth Beach will be reveling in the doughy delights by this spring.

Within the next year, expect to see more Prunes popping-up in Ocean Pines, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, Bethany Beach and various spots in Virginia.

In addition to running two Ocean City shops on 28th Street and 127th Street, The Fractured Prune family will be flaunting their delectable wares — which also include bagels and assorted breakfast sandwiches — to 14,000 potential investors at the International Franchise Expo in Washington, D.C. in April.

“It’s a labor of love to take your business to the next level,” Tylor said. “You have to be very focused and very committed to the process.”

According to business experts, there are three key ingredients needed to make a franchise: a unique name (check), a creative approach (check) and a good product (double check).

The Fractured Prune, which was named in honor of Prunella Shriek, an adventurous, albeit injury-prone, Ocean City resident of yore, has been serving made-to-order, hot cake doughnuts since the early 1960s. It’s not uncommon for hungry customers to stand in hour-long lines for a little taste of heaven. Last Fourth of July, the business sold more than 9,000 donuts.

“Day after day when I hear people say things like, ‘these are the best donuts I’ve ever had in my life’ and ‘Krispy Kreme can’t hold a candle to The Fractured Prune.’ I think, yeah, we do have something special here,” Tylor said.

Jamie Lauren Peck, 18, drove down to the beach from Bethesda, Md. with her boyfriend, Sandy Thompson, 18, to introduce him to her favorite treats. First-time customers always get a complimentary honey-glazed donut dusted with cinnamon and sugar. After one bite, Thompson was hooked and ordered a dozen more.

“I’m amazed,” he said, wiping a dribble of glaze from his chin. “You get to pick out everything you want on it. I’ve never even thought about that before, let alone seen it.”

The folks at The Fractured Prune pride themselves on providing people with a full-blown sensory experience. Not only can customers inhale the sweet scents from a mile away, they can watch the entire donut-making process from batter to pastry box.

First, the flour-and-water mixture is loaded into a hopper, which measures and shapes the individual cakes. A machine called The Donut Robot then fries the goodies to perfection in cholesterol-free oil. After that, it’s up to the customer to choose from a buffet of tasty toppings and glazes.

“It’s fun watching people create their own donut,” Colleen Kaufman said, “especially the college kids; they get crazy.”

One of the more outrageous concoctions to be served at The Fractured Prune was a donut drizzled in peanut butter and orange glaze and crowned with chocolate sprinkles, coconut and cinnamon. The new featured item on the menu is the Hole-in-One, a hot, customized donut served with one generous scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center of it.

“We do eat our own products,” Tylor confessed. “The Hole-in-One, that’s just too hard to resist. We’re going to go berserk with that. But, every now and then you just have to have something good.”

Sampling the fruits, or in this case, the donuts, of their labor, is one indulgence the owners allow themselves. Unlike the fragile body of Prunella Shriek, Tylor and her family have an unbreakable work ethic and put a little bit of heart and soul into each and every donut they make.

And customers appreciate the effort.

“Thank You” cards from donut-devotees around the country line the walls of each shop.

“Franchising has been a long process with a lot of ups and downs,” Colleen Kaufman said. “It feels really good when people come in and say, ‘no one deserves it more than you guys.’”

The 127th Street location is currently open at 7 a.m. Friday-Sunday. Both shops will be open seven days a week starting April 1.

For more information on The Fractured Prune, including details about franchising opportunities, simply visit www.fracturedprune.com or call (866) 369-3668.