Not your typical donut shop: Lukumades opens first U.S. location in Jacksonville Beach

Gary T. Mills, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union
Updated ·3 min read

Over the last few years, Jacksonville has welcomed a number of new doughnut shops, ranging from classic mom-and-pop shops serving fried dough staples to gourmet shops offering next-level sugary treats to newer chains serving Hawaiian-style doughnuts.

The newest entrant, however, is offering up something new: Greek doughnuts.

Known for its fried dough balls instead of rings, Lukumades opened Wednesday in Jacksonville Beach at 504 1st St. N.

The shop operates out of a 984-square-foot space in the building shared with O-Ku, an upscale Japanese restaurant with rooftop bar, part of the Trevato Development Group’s redevelopment of the block that also includes the former J. Johnson Gallery building and a future beachfront restaurant and bar.

The shop is the first in the United States for Australian-based Lukumades, which has more than 21 locations in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan and Singapore — and now in the U.S., in Jacksonville Beach.

The franchised location comes from brothers Leo and Geo Georgallis.

Born and raised in Jacksonville, Leo Georgallis, 37, said the brothers' parents came to the United States from Greece. His late father, Elias, who owned Elias Jewelry, was from Kos, and his mother, Paula, was from Kalamata.

Leo Georgallis, co-franchise owner of Lukumades, cleans up the espresso machine at the coffee bar Thursday, May 2, 2024. Lukumades, a new Greek doughnut shop at 504 1st St. N. in Jacksonville Beach, offers small fried doughnuts made from a traditional recipe and garnished with a range of toppings as well as ice cream, gelato, shakes, coffee and other drinks.

Georgallis said he spent many summers traveling to Greece to visit relatives and to enjoy his favorite Greek dessert: lukumades.

In 2005, he became friends with the entrepreneur Exarhos Sourligas, known as "Mr. X" in Greece, who launched the Lukumades dessert café concept — first as a food truck — in 2016 in Melbourne, Australia.

“It really clicked with me. I wanted to bring a little bit of my family’s culture, a dessert that is a 2,000-year-old recipe that, you know has been around forever," Georgallis said. "I wanted to bring that to my hometown, Jax Beach, where I was born and raised.”

A mixed box of Lukumades Greek doughnuts in flavors Dark Delight, with melted dark chocolate and crushed pistachios, and Snicka Pick, covered with melted milk chocolate, crushed peanuts and drizzled with caramel sauce.
A mixed box of Lukumades Greek doughnuts in flavors Dark Delight, with melted dark chocolate and crushed pistachios, and Snicka Pick, covered with melted milk chocolate, crushed peanuts and drizzled with caramel sauce.

What are lukumades?

Known as Greek doughnuts, lukumades are fried dough balls typically served with honey syrup and cinnamon.

“Traditionally in Greece, there is really one flavor. They do it with honey and cinnamon, which is the way they’ve been doing it for thousands of years. We just kind of took it to the next level and are offering hard-to-find flavors. European flavors like European chocolates, things you don’t normally see,” he said.

How are Lukumades doughnuts different from traditional Greek doughnuts?

Lukumades offers the classic Greek doughnuts with a modern twist in 13 flavors, including toppings of crushed Oreos, Snickers, Biscoff Lotus biscuits and more.

“So we have everything from the simple to the extreme. A little something for everyone as we like to say,” Georgallis said.

Crushed Oreos are sprinkled on white chocolate Cookies & Cream doughnuts in a mixed box with Love U So Matcha doughnuts drizzled with Matcha infused white chocolate at Lukumades, a new doughnut shop in Jacksonville Beach.
Crushed Oreos are sprinkled on white chocolate Cookies & Cream doughnuts in a mixed box with Love U So Matcha doughnuts drizzled with Matcha infused white chocolate at Lukumades, a new doughnut shop in Jacksonville Beach.

Flavor options include:

  • Golden Maple: Maple syrup and crushed Oreos

  • Kinderella: Melted hazelnut sauce, drizzled milk chocolate and crushed biscuit

  • Love U So Matcha: Matcha-infused ball with white chocolate

  • Bougatsa: Filled with custard and topped with cinnamon and icing sugar

  • Lotus Crunch: Melted Biscoff with Lotus crushed biscuits

  • Jam It: Filled with strawberry jam and rolled in cinnamon sugar

There’s also The Original (with honey and cinnamon), Glazed, and Plain Jane (rolled in cinnamon sugar).

Made fresh every 30 minutes, the doughnuts come 10 per tray, priced at $8.75 to $9.50 per tray.

Also on the menu are selections of gelato, shakes and coffee drinks.

Plans to expand Lukumades beyond Jacksonville Beach

Offering gourmet Greek doughnuts, Lukumades is now open on 1st Street in Jacksonville Beach.
Offering gourmet Greek doughnuts, Lukumades is now open on 1st Street in Jacksonville Beach.

Georgallis said he and his brother, who are the master franchise owners for the Florida market, are looking to expand the concept throughout Jacksonville and Northeast Florida.

“I’ve set a personal goal, saying in the next 10 years, I want to have 25 or more stores, maybe even 50 stores,” he said, noting that South Florida also would be a target area.

Lukumades is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridayand Saturday.

Teresa Stepzinski of the Times-Union contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Greek doughnut chain Lukumades opens in Jacksonville Beach