D’Serve is where sweet and savory meet.
Launched last August by Andrew and Shannon Mercado, the concept—artisan doughnut shop by day and four-course, farm-to-table prix fixe by night—has quickly become a community hub amid downtown Flemington’s renaissance.
The married owners bring complementary skills: Andrew is a chef; Shannon is a pastry chef. Their résumé includes restaurant and catering ventures, most recently Yard Tacos in High Bridge. The idea for D’Serve took shape after the couple catered a wedding with a doughnut wall.
“Something clicked,” Andrew Mercado says. “I had a background in pizza, so I understood dough, and Shannon makes really good doughnuts. She’s the sweet; I’m the savory. We decided to put our talents together—she focuses on the doughnuts and I focus on the dinners.”
“Really good doughnuts” may be an understatement. Shannon’s artisanal yeast doughnuts are light and fluffy, with rotating seasonal flavors that go far beyond the classics. Recent offerings include London Fog (Earl Grey and vanilla glaze with blue cornflower petals and crispy wafer crumbs), Remixed Jersey Cream (chocolate pastry cream–filled with vanilla glaze and chocolate cookie crumbs), Salted Maple Miso (maple-white miso glaze with brûléed maple sugar and Maldon salt flakes) and Ferrero Rocher (crunchy dark-chocolate hazelnut base with chocolate glaze and hazelnut-praline drizzle). Vegan and gluten-free options are available.
A Flemington native, Shannon returned in 2020 and created pastries for the former Factory Fuel in the Stangl Factory as well as for the couple’s catering company and taco shop. Serving her hometown is part of the draw.
“There’s a strong sense of community—a driving force to make this town come alive and thrive,” Mercado says. “It’s different to be a business that grows with a neighborhood, when you can be part of the change rather than arriving after it.”
D’Serve is designed for flexibility: grab doughnuts with the kids, meet friends for coffee or lunch, or settle in for a cozy, farm-to-table tasting menu. Seats are limited—about 24—so reservations are recommended.
A three-tier membership program ($100 to $500 quarterly) offers credits and bonus credits toward future purchases. Perks include a free doughnut for every 12 purchased, invitations to special events, private-event discounts and access to a text concierge line for sneak peeks and last-minute reservations.
The monthly changing tasting menu, with vegan and vegetarian options, highlights ingredients from local producers such as Misty Acres Farm, Sweet Valley Farms, Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse, Ironbound Farm and Stanton Valley Farm. D’Serve is BYOB, or guests may choose a bottle from Beneduce Vineyards in Pittstown.
Dinners run up to 1 hour, 45 minutes and aim for a dinner-party feel.
“It’s alive, it’s buzzy, it’s fun,” Mercado says. “You wind up making friends with the tables next to you.”
D'Serve
Address: 32 Main St, Flemington, NJ 08822
Phone: (914) 467-9327
Menu: dserveonmain.com
“I had a background in pizza, so I understood dough, and Shannon makes really good doughnuts. She’s the sweet; I’m the savory." - Andrew Mercado
D'Serve
Address: 32 Main St, Flemington, NJ 08822
Phone: (914) 467-9327
Menu: dserveonmain.com