ASBURY PARK - Before working with colorful food at Purple Glaze Donuts, owner Rich Silva started his own painting business when he was 18 with a couple of close friends.

“We named ourselves Collegiate Painters and started the business in 1989,” Silva said. “For three summers in our college years, we went out, did estimations and painted houses all along the Jersey Shore. We loved it and it was really rewarding working as your own boss. You have a great feeling of what you put into it because you knew you were going to be proud of your accomplishments.”

The job helped put them through school, but they knew it wouldn't be forever.

“I was finishing up college,” Silva said. “I knew that I was going to have to go out into the world and get a real job eventually. It paid off in the end because I busted my hump and I was able to pay for all of my college tuition without having to take out loans. I saved up enough money to support myself and I had a lot to show for it at the end of the day.”

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After starting at Northeastern University in Boston and studying for two years there, Silva transferred to Rutgers University for his last two years to save some money, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science.

“I wanted to go to law school,” Silva said. “I went back up to Boston to do so and I attended New England Law-Boston. I was there three years and was certified as a lawyer. I practiced law for a couple of years in New Jersey and Illinois and decided that the act of practicing law wasn’t for me. It was just not a good personality fit for me.”

From the corporate world to doughnuts

Silva called it quits in 1997 and landed a job for an insurance company called Empower Retirement.

Over the years working in the corporate field, Silva became friends with Kevin McDonough.

“I really got to know him over the years and we became good friends,” Silva said. “We found we had a lot in common and we really hit it off and formed something that was extremely sustainable. One thing that we really shared with each other, was that we both loved going to Purple Glaze and that was the beginning of the career path we chose together.”

The previous owners of Purple Glaze Donuts in Asbury Park, who had owned it since 2016, were looking to sell. That led Silva and McDonough to take the leap, buying Purple Glaze Donuts in March 2021.

The original owners were looking to sell the business, since they had owned it from 2016.

“It was more of a part-time business for us at first,” Silva said. “We figured we would really focus on it after we wound up retiring from our corporate jobs that we were still apart of at the time we acquired the business. Due to being part of a major layoff, I happened to move into this space sooner than I thought.

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"We looked at Purple Glaze as a business we loved because we were initially customers and we were really into it at that point," Silva said. "We enjoyed going in there to buy doughnuts, but also because we loved the fact that it was a mom-and-pop shop. They were a community-based doughnut shop and we wanted to support that idea.”

Silva and McDonough asked another mutual friend, Mary Flynn, to join them in their venture.

“Mary was a trained pastry chef and she was running the bakery department at Whole Foods in Wall,” Silva said. “After speaking with her, we piqued her interest and convinced her to run the day-to-day operations of this business. She was interested immediately and was very excited about the community-based focus that we were striving for. It was all about giving back to the community.”

Variety of choices

Silva, McDonough and Flynn offer many different versions of your typical doughnut.

“We have three types of doughnuts, including conventional, vegan and gluten free,” Silva said. “We’ve got variation to try and cater to all different types of customers and their eating preferences. In addition to that, we have many different types off flavors per category. Some of our bestsellers are Boston cream, glazed with sprinkles, banana cream pie, French toast, Coconut Concussion, Mango Tango and Wake n’ Bacon, among others. Over time, we really tweaked the recipe and made it the best it could be.”

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The owners of Purple Glaze want to continue to do what they have done so far.

“It’s all about supporting the community first and for most,” Silva said. “We want to continue to make the best doughnuts on the Jersey Shore, as we were recently in Yelp’s top 100 doughnut shops in the country. That’s an honor and we just want to continue to be recognized by our customers. People come in and they leave with a smile.”

Purple Glaze Donuts

Location: 516 Summerfield Ave., Asbury Park

Phone: 732-361-5308

Website: www.purpleglazedonuts.com

Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Purple Glaze Donut owners started as customers at Asbury Park NJ shop