Voodoo Doughnuts at Denver Airport: Worth Every Weird Calorie

Okay, I’ll admit it – the first time I spotted that pink box with the voodoo doll on it at Denver Airport, I thought someone was messing with me. A doughnut shop that looks like this? Inside an airport? But then that smell hit me, and suddenly I didn’t care how weird the branding was. I was getting in line.

The Origin Story

Here’s the thing that makes Voodoo even better: the two guys who started it in Portland back in 2003 – Tres Shannon and Kenneth “Cat Daddy” Pogson – had never baked professionally. Like, at all. Zero experience. They just had this crazy idea about making doughnuts nobody had ever seen before, and somehow it turned into this cult favorite that’s now in airports and cities across the country.

That’s the kind of “what do we have to lose” energy I respect.

What Makes Them Different

Most airport food blurs together in my memory. It’s forgettable by design. But Voodoo’s doing something genuinely different – doughnuts topped with breakfast cereal, filled with weird and wonderful creams, decorated in ways that make you laugh before you bite. The names alone are half the entertainment.

The Must-Try List

The Mango Tango surprised me. It’s a raised doughnut stuffed with mango filling, and that sweet-tangy combination actually works. The Grape Ape sounds weird – lavender frosting with grape dust – but trust the process. It’s good.

• The Voodoo Doll: This is their signature, and yeah, it’s worth getting at least once. A doughnut shaped like a little person with a pretzel stake through its heart. Raspberry filling, chocolate frosting. Every bite is an adventure. Plus, Instagram content for days.
• Bacon Maple Bar: Shouldn’t work. Absolutely does. Maple frosting with actual crispy bacon strips on top. Sweet and salty and a little bit ridiculous – that’s basically Voodoo’s whole philosophy in one doughnut.

Beyond the Doughnuts

What I didn’t expect was how fun the whole experience would be. The staff actually seems to enjoy being there, which is rare for airport food service. And there’s this big window where you can watch them making everything fresh. There’s something weirdly relaxing about watching dough turn into fluffy rings while you wait for your flight.

The Denver Airport Spot

They opened at DEN in 2016, and it’s become one of those places everyone mentions. You’ll find it in the West Terminal. Best part? They’re open 24/7. Red-eye flight at 2 AM? Voodoo’s got you. Crack-of-dawn connection? Fresh batches are already happening.

One detail I love about this location – customers have been decorating empty doughnut boxes with their own artwork and leaving them on display. It’s become this whole gallery of traveler creativity. You won’t see that at Cinnabon.

The Bigger Picture

Look, it’s just doughnuts. I know that. But there’s something cool about two guys with no baking experience turning a weird idea into something that makes people genuinely happy in an airport, of all places. That takes guts. And the fact that they’ve kept it interesting, kept it different, says something.

If You’re Passing Through Denver

Don’t skip it. Follow your nose to the pink neon, grab something ridiculous-looking, maybe scribble something on a box for the gallery. Life’s too short for boring doughnuts – especially when you’re about to be trapped in an airplane for hours.