Yellow Light Coffee & Donuts

So, a donut, a nose, and a drone walked into a train station…

  • Yellow Light Coffee & Donuts—the best coffee-and-donut chain in Detroit—opened its newest location inside Michigan Central Station at the end of 2024, becoming the first food-and-beverage tenant in the historic train station in more than four decades.

    To mark the moment, we wanted to have a little fun, make a little noise, and give the opening the attention it deserved.

    We started with the design and naming for a limited-edition coffee blend, Detroit Depot. But we didn’t stop there.

    We brought Yellow Light’s signature donut aroma to life with the world’s largest scratch-and-sniff billboard, inviting passersby to stop and take a whiff. (We promise, it smelled good.)

    Still not done.

    We capped off the summer with Dronuts™ (yes,™) —a cross-city stunt where donuts were delivered by drone. In partnership with our friends at Michigan Central, Newlab, Aerialoop, Airspace Link, and Code 313, we celebrated National Donut Day in the most Detroit way possible.

    Launching from the roof of Newlab, we flew donuts across the city to construction workers at Ralph C. Wilson Park for their morning coffee break. Then we turned our attention to a VIP: the Mayor of Detroit, who received his own drone-delivered donut at Hart Plaza—marking the longest commercial drone flight in Michigan history.

    Not bad for a little coffee (and donut) that could.

Three yellow packages of Detroit Depot whole bean coffee from Yellow Light Coffee & Donuts on a white surface in a coffee shop.
A collage of five photos showing a large yellow billboard with black text that says 'Fresh glazed billboard. Just scratch & sniff.' at Michigan Central Station, with people standing in front of or near it, some sniffing or interacting with the billboard.
Billboard advertising International Donuts Day with a yellow background, cartoon donut character with eyes and mouth, wearing headphones, waving, and making a peace sign, drone above the donut, and the text 'Heads up' and event details.
A group of people, including a woman in a checkered blazer and a man in a suit, are gathered outdoors near a body of water with a city skyline in the background. They are engaged in conversation around a yellow drone on the ground. Several individuals have cameras and microphones, indicating a media event or interview.
A yellow drone flying in the sky with some clouds.
A cartoon donut character with eyes, mouth, arms, and legs, floating in the sky with a drone above, creating a donut-shaped shadow. The background is yellow with clouds. Text promotes International Donut Day on September 12, 2025, with the theme 'Yellow Light'.
A young man kneeling on the ground smiling and holding an open box of donuts at an outdoor event. Several people are standing and walking around in the background, some with cameras, near tents and trees.