SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WTVF) — Three months ago, RJ and Rebekah Apostol started with some dough in their kitchen.
Now, they're building a business.
"We are starting a donut business from the ground up," RJ said.
The Spring Hill couple makes their donuts fresh, offering classics like chocolate and vanilla alongside more adventurous flavors such as brown butter maple.
"I think our niche of like seed oil free and dye free has really drawn in," Rebekah said.
Making those donuts means some very early mornings.
"That's the only time we have really together alone is at 3:30 in the morning," RJ said.
But Rebekah has found she doesn't mind the unusual schedule.
"It's also just been so fun," she said. "Like, I never thought I would enjoy waking up at 3 a.m. and making donuts."
The Apostols are also raising four children, giving the venture another purpose beyond making something sweet. Their kids get a firsthand look at what goes into starting a business, including both its successes and its challenges.
"The fact that they get to see us work hard and succeed but also fail on things," RJ said. "It has been challenging for us, but it has been great just to see how that incorporates the kids as well."
Now, their operation, Morning Rise Donuts, is reaching its next milestone.
"We started making them in our kitchen and are transitioning to a commercial kitchen!" Rebekah said.
The additional space will mean more room for donuts and experimentation. One recent creation was a pumpkin fritter.
The transition has also led the couple to temporarily turn off online orders while they go through the process of starting production from the commercial kitchen. They plan to announce on social media when orders resume.
For Rebekah, something that wasn't even an idea a few months ago has turned into something much bigger.
"I tell people it's the dream I didn't know I had," she said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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