EASTHAMPTON — Wake up! What owner Steven Collicelli calls a “doughnut desert” in Hampshire County has a new remedy: Wake the Dead Donuts, a flashy pink and black food truck run by two longtime friends, cooking up a variety of mini doughnuts.
The food truck is in the parking lot at 1 Northampton St. right at the Main Street rotary next to The Heavy Culture Cooperative (THCC). There, co-owners Steven Collicelli and Tim DeGennaro freshly fry mini doughnuts, operating from 8 a.m. to noon, Thursday to Friday.
“It’s the dream, it’s the vision,” Collicelli said about the location. “We have a lot of regulars now. We set up some camp chairs and a folding table. We set up a cornhole and people just come to chill.”
Of course, they can jam to some tunes.
“Music is a big part of our brand identity. We always like to have music where we go to draw people, it helps us work, but it also helps create an atmosphere around us,” Collicelli said.
While the Wake the Dead food truck opened earlier this summer, Collicelli and DeGennaro have been cooking for several years now — they first opened in 2021, serving at events in the area with a pink pop-up tent. They used to set up the tent in the same spot, right next to THCC, but Collicelli said this year is a step up, having a set location with expanded hours.
Inside the van each day, dough is made fresh, then placed in a funnel of the duo’s Lil Orbits Donut fryer. The funnel cuts out perfect circles of dough, which float down a river of oil until cooked and tossed in the seasoning of choice.
The duo’s main doughnut flavors include plain vanilla, cinnamon-sugar, and just in time for fall, apple cider. They also bake “Do-Nots,” gluten-free and vegan doughnuts that alternate flavors. On occasion, they will even serve “Donut Sundaze.”
But breakfast doesn’t stop at doughnuts. Wake the Dead also serves freshly made egg sandwiches with sausage or bacon, and coffee, with beans from YUP Coffee Roasters in Northampton. All the food choices, from the American cheese to the New York-style Kaiser rolls, are intentional.
“Our whole philosophy is very simple — simple food, nothing fancy, but also we do it made to order,” Collicelli said, adding that they like to source locally.
Locals may have seen stickers of the Wake the Dead logo around town — a pink-frosted doughnuts with a purple lightning bolt striking through the hole. Whether it’s the food, style or energy, it’s all part of the Wake the Dead vibe that has grown in popularity in the area.
Wake the Dead has its roots in Collicelli and DeGennaro’s travels around the country to see different bands like Grateful Dead and Phish, making pit stops to get a cheap meal, often a doughnut or pastry.
“Wake the Dead came from the fact that Tim and I are both deadheads, and the whole traveling mobile food thing came out of, as teenagers, we used to pack into an old sedan and drive across the country,” Collicelli said.
Collicelli and DeGennaro landed in the area after the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing extensive history in food trucking, cooking and marketing. While they initially considered making pizza, they quickly noticed something upon arriving here.
“It’s kind of a doughnut desert out here,” Collicelli said, adding that while places like Doughnut Dip and Mrs. Murphy’s exist nearby, none are in Hampshire County.
Of course, there is Dunkin’ Donuts, but Collicelli said that contributes to the decline of independent doughnut shops in New England.
“Dunkin’ Donuts destroyed independent doughnut shops in Massachusetts, New England,” Collicelli said. “Like, you go to other parts of the country, there’s still mom-and-pop doughnut shops where you can go get a cup of coffee. It doesn’t exist here.”
After succeeding with the pop-up tent, Collicelli and DeGennaro began searching for a food truck more than a year ago. With help from friends at THCC, they renovated the space outside the building at 1 Northampton St., transforming what used to be a blank blacktop into the ideal location.
“People were curious about the tent,” Collicelli said. “That was kind of what kicked off this whole project of renovating this courtyard and getting the food truck.”
Collicelli said the food truck will operate seasonally, likely closing around mid-November this year. In the meantime, they will continue experimenting with new flavors and menu items, soon serving spiced apple cider.
Wake the Dead can be found set up at multiple events around the area for the remainder of the year. In Easthampton, they will be at the remaining Food Truck Fridays, hosted by Abandoned Building Brewery, and Easthampton’s Harvest Festival on Saturday, Oct. 10, in Nonotuck Park.
For more information, visit wakethedeaddonuts.com.
