Mikiko Mochi Donuts Is Open in Beaverton

Pretty donuts at Mikiko Mochi Donuts in Portland and Beaverton, OR. — Some of the prettiest donuts you’ll find. Photo credit: Mikiko Mochi

A little late on this, but I wanted to talk about it anyway, because it’s good news: Mikiko Mochi Donuts is now open in Beaverton, home to their second brick & mortar shop. And their donuts are delicious. You’ll find them in the West End District mixed-use building complex.

Mikiko Mochi Donut’s Background Story

Mikiko Mochi Donuts started in February 2020 in a nondescript office park off Hall Blvd, not too far from the new Beaverton location. Founders Emily Mikiko Strocher and Alex McGillivray had spent time there developing and perfecting a butter mochi donut recipe that they felt proud enough to share with the masses. They also note that they were “the first to bring mochi donuts to the city.” The love for mochi comes specifically from Emily’s influence via her Japanese-American roots; she grew up celebrating mochitsuki on her extended family’s walnut orchard south of the Bay Area.

With their beloved mochi donut recipe in hand, they popped-up in all sorts of places—everywhere from an office building lobby, to a coffee shop, to a clothing boutique. Mikiko’s Instagram following started to grow; she looked forward to vending at places like Night Market, Design Week, and farmers markets.

But as you know, March 2020 was the beginning of the pandemic and that threw an epic monkey wrench into basic life, including school and business. But instead of letting that stop them, Mikiko and Alex pivoted to the contactless delivery model that became so popular during the pandemic. They delivered boxes and boxes of donuts all across the metro area. People loved them! The donuts’ reputation continued to grow.

She writes, “Later that year a former delivery customer and New Seasons buyer reached out to bring Mikiko Mochi Donuts to the grocery. It was at that point [that I] was ready for the big leagues. [We] soon graduated to [our] own production kitchen and hired [our] first staff.” After a few months with that, she knew she wanted to eventually open a brick & mortar shop. That all came true in February 2022—two years after she and Alex started this whole thing—when they opened their first shop on NE 28th Avenue.

And now, a little less than two and a half years later, they expanded to Beaverton.

The Mochi Donuts

These donuts are made from sticky rice flour and coconut milk. They are naturally gluten-free, and on top of that there is no gluten allowed in any of the shops, so the donuts and retail spaces are safe for those with celiac, too. “Everybody should have great options regardless of dietary restrictions,” explains Mikiko.

When it comes to choosing flavors for the donuts, she looks to the cultural influences in her own life that reflects her experience of growing up with feet in two worlds: Think strawberry yuzu funfetti—or black sesame with marionberry jam for a cross-cultural take on a PB&J. Mikiko Mochi Donuts was also the first mochi donut shop I noticed that offered a breakfast sandwich and a fried chicken sandwich served on mochi donut buns.

I’ve had these donuts at their NE 28th Avenue location and I like them quite a bit. They are smaller and lighter than the average donut—smaller than the classics at Annie’s or Coco Donuts, and definitely more modest in size than Blue Star. I also like that they, at least for me, are easier to digest (probably because they are gluten, dairy, and nut free), with fun and interesting flavors. At the writing of this article, their special flavors are (copy sourced form their Instagram post):

Marionberry Lemonade. Starring Oregon’s favorite berry, plus silky lemon curd.
POG w/Guava Curd. Tropical passion-orange-guava glaze with luxurious guava curd.
Matcha Strawberry. Earthy @truetea.pdx matcha glaze with strawberry jam drizzle.
Thai Tea. Aromatic Thai tea glaze with condensed coconut milk drizzle.
Chocolate. Just plain old chocolate—sometimes the simple things in life are best.

The Beaverton Location

Mikiko Mochi Donuts opened their Beaverton location on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. As I mentioned earlier, they are in the West End District complex, which opened in 2021. Built on a former Kmart and strip mall site, it is now a 12-building mixed use complex.

It has a variety of retail businesses on the first floor of the buildings—that’s where Mikiko Mochi Donuts is. Their food neighbors include Portland Cider Company, Caspian Kabob, Tea & Tea Bubble Tea Shop, Rovente Pizzeria, Prime Tap House, and Gagnam Teriyaki & Korean Cuisine. So, they are in good company. You’ll find then specifically next to Rovente and across from Tea & Tea.

The hope, according to Dixie Thompson, supervising community manager for the West End District in an article from the Portland Tribune, is that the retail will bring people in to the area—and I imagine Mikiko Mochi Donuts hopes for that, as well.

For whatever reason, the West End District complex has streets named after space-age elements: Orbit, Saturn, and Rocket. Mikiko Mochi Donut is on Orbit street—kind of cool because their donuts are the shape of a round orbit (I’m sure I’m not the first one the point this out). There’s also parking in front of each retail shop.

I hope you’ll have a chance to stop by Beaverton’s Mikiko Mochi Donut location. They are open daily from 7am to 7pm.

Mikiko Mochi Donuts [opened July 2, 2024]
3905 SW Orbit Street, Beaverton
https://www.mikikodonuts.com | Instagram | Facebook