Zewiditu Jewel is the co-founder of Cloudy Donut, a Black-owned brand she is building one store at a time, with a goal of opening a new location every single year. What makes her story even more remarkable: she has done all of this without stepping foot in the kitchen.
A fourth-generation Washingtonian who watched gentrification reshape her hometown, Zewiditu has built something that pushes back: a brand with four locations, partnerships with Oatly, LVMH, and Tiffany & Co., and a philosophy she coined herself called reverse gentrification, bringing Black-owned businesses into affluent communities where they have historically been absent.
A former teacher turned entrepreneur, Zewiditu brings the same commitment she once poured into young students into every community she now serves. Her vision extends far beyond donuts.
There is a rare quality to Zewiditu’s presence. She is the kind of person who makes you feel grounded in conversation while simultaneously making you want to move. In our chat, she offers a peek into what it truly takes to be a visionary.
Her Agenda: Can you describe the brainstorming session that ignited Cloudy Donut Co. into existence?
Zewiditu Jewel: Cloudy Donut is essentially like this love story. Derek and I met in 2019 and a couple months after we met, he had just started Cloudy Donut. I was teaching. I’d been teaching for 14 years, and I was kind of at the end of the line in my journey.
We had a conversation in the year 2020. I distinctively remember I was literally on a lunch break in the library, and I was really frustrated with my job. Basically, we went over the numbers of how much money I was making as a teacher. And he said, ‘If I can match this, what do you think about coming on and starting the business with me?’
So [Cloudy Donut] was very, very new, and I was essentially in a place where I was ready for transition. I met Derek, I think maybe two or three weeks after my grandmother had passed. My grandma and I were very, very close, and I had said to myself, when my grandmother transitions. So will I.
I had the privilege of helping my mother take care of my grandmother. So essentially, when she passed, I knew that I was in a particular place that was ready for change. I was one year sober from alcohol. I met Derek, we started building Cloudy Donuts and that really turned into a big thing for the both of us.
Her Agenda: At what point did you and your partner solidify the reverse gentrification aspect of the business model?
Zewiditu Jewel: I’m a fourth generation Washingtonian, and that’s important for the context, because I saw how hard gentrification hit my city. I literally grew up in Chocolate City, and I saw the city change. So we were unpacking some boxes, we were opening in Brooklyn Heights, our first location. So we’re unpacking these boxes, and a Black woman comes in, an older Black woman, and she’s like, asking us, essentially, who are we? And we’re kind of perplexed, like, what do you mean? And she was like, ‘Well, you know, I was wondering if you guys work for this company or, like, what’s happening here?’ [We told her] ‘no, we’re the owners of [this] shop.’ And she was floored. She couldn’t believe that there were Black people that were coming into the neighborhood and actually owned a business. And so from that conversation, I actually did my own research to see, are there other Black owned businesses in this neighborhood? And come to find out, there were not. So with the context that I have being from DC, I coined the term reverse gentrification. So it’s not the dictionary (definition of the word, which refers to the displacement of lower income residents) of version which speaks to real estate. This is a term that I created based off of the work that we’ve done, which is bringing our Black owned businesses into affluent communities, affluent communities absent of color.
Her Agenda: What did it take, emotionally and mentally, to claim space in neighborhoods where Black-owned businesses are underrepresented?
Zewiditu Jewel: So when Derek and I first met, in the beginning phase of dating, we established that we were going to be transitional people. I assumed that was particular to our personal relationship, right? We want to create a healthy tone for relationships within our family based off of the family that we’re creating based off of the dynamics that we’ve seen. What I later found out, as we started to progress into the business is that we have become transitional people within the culture. It could feel heavy because it can feel like it’s a burden or a personal responsibility, but I say just being is enough. As long as I walk into this world as an honorable woman, I’m true to myself, I’m true to my family, then I understand that I’m doing the best that I can and being the best example that I can be. And I see it. There are some times where I feel a little bothered, you know, frustrated knowing that my white peers and counterparts have an easier time within the same industry that I’m in solely based off of their skin color, when I feel that my product is far more superior, I have to work 1,000 times harder to get people to see me. That can be a bit difficult. And I think that some people don’t want to keep hearing you say Black this, Black that. They want you to just be happy with the fact that you “made it.” But until we all make it, I didn’t make it.
Her Agenda: As a woman, what are some of the challenges you face, once people realize you are not the one making the donuts?
Zewiditu Jewel: I am someone who is always honest and standing in my truth. So I would find people come into the shop and they’d be like, ‘Oh my God, you’re the baker. You made that.’ I’m like, actually, I’m not. Like, if I was the baker. We probably wouldn’t be standing in the shop today, right? But I also understand that for some people, gender roles are just a way for them to feel comfortable and understand and associate based off of examples and things that we’ve seen, you know?
I was raised by very strong women, but these are also women that raised me to understand that the man is the head of the household. Now, the man that was the head of the household in my family dynamic was my grandfather, and rightfully so.
When we talk about gender roles, it’s not enough that a man has a penis and he is a man, right? What value does he bring to his family? Is he an earner? Does he create opportunities for his family? It goes beyond just you’re a man and I’m a woman, and so in our household I was taught how to be the type of woman that I was raised to be, and reminded of what that looks like, based off of the standards that Derek had before I came into this relationship. He cooks, he cleans, all these things are standards that he has for himself. And so he showed me, this is how he shows up in the relationship. And then in turn, this is the expectation for me. And on my end, I create a level of softness, and also a warmer tone in the house. [It’s him] myself and our dog (who was very much a boy dog). So [I’m] creating a space for light heartedness [and] fun, but also creating that nurturing environment. We do well, playing within our roles as male and female, but also understanding there are going to be times where I’ve got to step up and I’ve got to make money for the house. I run those shops. I’m responsible for the sales and making sure that we keep the money coming into the house. So it’s not just one person pulling more weight than the other. It’s really understanding the value of each.
Her Agenda: How do you see reverse gentrification creating new experiences not just for Black customers, but for neighbors encountering a Black-owned, vegan business for the first time?
Zewiditu Jewel: We did a lot of positive and progressive things for the neighborhood since we’ve been there, and specifically when we first opened. We were the first business to have a ribbon cutting ceremony. We had a private opening for the neighborhood first, and then we opened. This was really to set the tone for how we would conduct ourselves as a business. Before we even opened, we were constantly giving out free products, as we were cooking in the kitchen, trying out the food and testing equipment and things like that.
We gave out so many free donuts and products. I was going to the neighborhood association. I went to the churches. I went to the schools. I sat with the council person of that particular area. I was very intentional with introducing not only myself, but the business and creating the expectations of what we were looking to bring. We’re not just slapping our business in the neighborhood and saying, “we’re open.” We serve as an amenity. So what that looks like to this day, when kids are coming into the store, because we’re only open on the weekend, the kids running into the shop on Saturday saying, ‘donut, donut, donut.’ I can’t tell you how many kids I have experienced have their first donut. Seeing that experience is something that ‘s very special to me. I grew up in a neighborhood, I remember going to my neighborhood deli since I was a kid. And having that sense of connectivity to a space, and then being able to connect with the business owner, I know so many of the neighbors and the residents, and it’s a part of their weekend routine, they can’t wait for Saturday or Sunday to come into the shop. That is a level of community that I feel is lost. It’s really important for me to uphold that standard, because it’s where I come from, it’s what I value.
I say it all the time. Locals keep local businesses open. The majority of my customers are white people, specifically white moms and their kids, and they know who we are. They don’t all follow us on social media but some of them do so. They see the messaging. They see the tone and the same conversations that we’re having online, we’re having in the store. We have to be comfortable with ourselves everywhere we go. I can’t now open in a predominantly white neighborhood and feel like I have to shrink myself. I still have to show up as I am. And there will be some people that will embrace that, and there’ll be others that don’t, and that’s okay. My goal is to create a phenomenal product, which we’ve done, to provide excellent hospitality, which we do, and to stand on all 10 every day, every day.
Her Agenda: How was the initial seed money for the business acquired? What did raising the money teach you about yourself and others?
Zewiditu Jewel: Oh, we worked and grind every day. Every year from 2019 to 2024 we’ve opened a new Cloudy Donut. That’s four Cloudy Donuts that we’ve opened. And the ones in Baltimore, Derek owns those buildings. We just came back from Baltimore, Sunday, we did a pop up. We’ve been doing pop ups every month or so. But the reality is that you can’t replicate yourself no matter how hard you try. So if you don’t have people that are going to uphold the same standards and integrity, the business is going to suffer.
We don’t have any investors. I don’t come from a family of money, and neither does he. Every time we opened a new location, we had to work extremely hard. When we acquired our place in Brooklyn Heights, (obviously we rent in New York) we had to double down and triple down on the work that we were doing in Baltimore, just so we could have the money to pay for that. There isn’t a surplus of money that has afforded us the opportunity to now open and expand. It’s really just like, ‘Okay, we want to do this. All right. Let’s get on.’ If we got to get to it what can we create for ourselves where we can get this money so we can fuel this dream? But there is everything we’ve done, everything that you see online, we’ve acquired these things just by putting in the work.
Her Agenda: Being fully self-funded, what does this next milestone, opening another city location, represent for you personally as a woman building without institutional backing?
Zewiditu Jewel: The goal for us was, once we saw what we had with our first store, Cloudy Donut and the product, we thought, why not expand? We always wanted to expand to New York, because I lived here. I always wanted to move back. Derek was like New York is a great opportunity for us to go to a larger city, but not to be too far from Baltimore, because we still have businesses there to maintain.
So, building a life that you want to live, not just settling with the life that you’re living in. And in order for us to elevate, we had to expand.
Her Agenda: When customers walk into Cloudy Donut Co., what do you hope they feel or understand beyond enjoying a donut?
Zewiditu Jewel: Every customer is different. I want people to feel the possibility. All I do in my shop is talk to the customers. I am always looking to reach women. Particularly, Black women, but over all, women. I want women to see a level of possibility for themselves beyond just what we assume we deserve. Going after everything you truly deserve.
Understanding that you can strive for more and greater. As well as, understanding that what you’re striding for, it requires a certain type of [hard] work. I live in Tribeca, along with some of the wealthy and elite. I have learned that everyone that has it, works hard for it. I say all the time that vulnerability is my superpower. I know that what I am doing in my life is creating what I thought was impossible and now sharing it with other people so that they can see that it is possible.
Her Agenda: What are a few unique aspects of Cloudy Donut Co. and how do you see them directly benefiting inspiring women creatives?
Zewiditu Jewel: Self-care is a luxury. I don’t spend a lot of time alone. It is important to me that I spend time with the right people. Having positive friends around. It is really important to take an inventory of the things that we surround ourselves with.
Her Agenda: How does your pivot from teaching now to an entrepreneur impact your mental health and your work-life-balance?
Zewiditu Jewel: My work-life-balance is definitely better now. Teachers are superheroes. We are trying to change a system that was never meant for us to change. It was really hard for me, as I got into the later years of teaching, I kept hitting a wall. I realize that I kept trying to make a difference in these students’ lives. I found myself in a space where I was extremely burnt out. Now, in the restaurant I find myself teaching and knocking down doors. But, if we are going to knock down doors, we might as well use the doors as a bridge. Now, I feel charged, I am teaching again, now, just in a different aspect.
[Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.]
