My teen Saturdays were spent traveling with my dad to his work, where he managed an appliance store and I'd move microwave ovens, refrigerators and color TVs like the '80s Dire Straits song.
Before we hit the road, we'd stop at a bakery less than a mile from the Michigan home where I grew up. It's where I first started to drink coffee (cream, no sugar) and we'd also order a bag of doughnuts for the ride.
A wonderful couple ran the bakery and made fresh coffee and doughnuts with love. Decades later, I'm still a fan of the cake doughnuts with frosting from those simpler times when life decisions meant, do I get the chocolate frosted or vanilla with coconut shavings?
Times have changed but doughnuts have not. They're still round, have a hole in the middle and can brighten any morning.
Let's celebrate National Donut Day, June 7 ― which began in 1938 ― with a dozen of our favorite places for these delightful, sugary creations across Florida. ― Dave Osborn, Regional Features Editor, Naples Daily News and News-Press of Fort Myers
CĀK’D, Naples
304 Ninth St. N., Naples; 239-692-9062;getcakd.com
What’s an award-winning wedding photographer to do when the pandemic puts the kibosh on your industry? Bake, like the rest of us. But unlike most of America’s sourdough obsession, Maria Trupiano turned to sweets, baking and selling cupcakes to provide for her kids. Trupiano’s vegan and gluten-free treats are the result of months spent studying the properties of gluten-free ingredients, which she developed into a signature flour blend so those with food allergies can indulge. In 2022, she opened the very cute CĀK’D in downtown Naples, where her creative donuts ($5.75 per) are works of art and taste as good as they look. My favorite? Her nostalgic “Hostess Cupcake” riff. For those who don’t like chocolate (what?), matcha-blueberry and birthday cake flavors easily satisfy the sweet tooth. — Diana Biederman, Naples Daily News
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Divine Donuts, Fort Myers
9131 College Parkway, Fort Myers; 239-672-8390; 1110 Del Prado Blvd., Cape Coral; 239-672-4907; mydivinedonuts.com
Doughnut-loving customers have the sweetest decisions to make at this fabulous and friendly 5½-year-old shop. Between 45 to 80 varieties of yeast and cake doughnuts fill the shelves each and every day here. And with 200 different flavors of doughnuts overall, new ones are offered daily. Lucky for us, Mitchelle Bonnema-Nobles, who co-owns Divine with husband Eddie Nobles, encourages creativity. That’s why you could come across crème brulée, Samoa, Nutella dream, strawberry banana sundae, Twix and/or Fruity Pebble doughnuts on your next visit. Like more traditional flavors? They always have those available too, including old fashioned, Boston cream, raspberry jelly, maple, red velvet and strawberry, chocolate and white iced.
And everything is made fresh daily ― bakers finish at 3 a.m. so decorators can begin crafting at 4 a.m. Throw in kronuts (croissant and doughnut!), bagels, cinnamon rolls, fritters, biscuits, breakfast items (with eggs cracked to order!!) and specialty coffees (iced comes with coffee ice cubes!!!) and it would take months to eat your way through the menu. Add in the ice cream and doughnut combos at the Cape Coral location (think milkshakes with doughnut pieces blended in and topped with doughnuts and ice cream doughnut sandwiches) and it’ll take years. You better get started! (Go on National Donut Day for a free doughnut & coffee tasting with any purchase over $10) — Robyn George, The News-Press
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Donnie’s Donuts, Daytona Beach
225 Daytona Blvd., Daytona Beach; 386-868-3122, donniesdonuts.com
If you’re a local Daytona doughnut lover, chances are you’vestopped in to Donnie’s Donutsat least once. The Food Network-featured favorite, located within the One Daytona complex across from the speedway, has been curing sweet tooth cravings for years across the county — though its Daytona shop is now Donnie's sole Volusia location.
At Donnie’s, all doughnuts are made fresh daily, with staff prepping trays full of sugared, iced and cream-filled creations right in front of you. The shop offers vintage cake doughnuts, "served plain or rolled in our GMO-free organic sugar or cinnamon sugar," and modern "handcrafted artisan doughnuts" that aren’t intimidating in size or overly sweetened, yet still well-portioned, light, fluffy and indulgent — an array that are just as tasty plain as they are dressed up. Recent favorites include the butterbeer doughnut — vanilla base decorated with butterscotch chips, Boston cream and caramel drizzle; and chocolate cheesecake doughnut — chocolate base, creamy cheesecake filling, Oreo crumbs and a light caramel drizzle. — Helena Perray, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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Donut Kingdom, Tallahassee
1705 W. Tennessee St. 3813 N. Monroe St., 3551 S. Blairstone Road; dktally.com
Donut Kingdom reigns in Tallahassee with light and puffy doughnuts, beautifully decorated with a just-right balance of sugar and texture. The small, family-owned business was started in 2009 and quickly became a Tallahassee go-to destination for breakfast sweets with three locations. They have a range of yeast doughnuts (Maple Frosted), cake doughnuts (Red Velvet Cake), filled doughnuts (Boston Kreme) even vegan doughnuts (Vegan Oreo). Don't miss out on jumbo apple fritters or cinnamon rolls. Other favorite flavors include French toast, chocolate frosted, strawberry sprinkles, double glazed and raspberry filled. As they say on their website: "Our mission is to spread happiness to our community through the best donuts and coffee." — Martha Gruender, Tallahassee Democrat
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The Donut Shoppe, Jacksonville
1535 University Blvd. N., Jacksonville, (904) 743-1844, facebook.com
When you’ve been making donuts for 60-plus years, you can get pretty good at it. Jacksonville’s Donut Shoppe has been around since 1962 and has been the city’s favorite for pretty much the whole time. It’s a tiny place, about 850 square feet, but can produce hundreds of dozens of donuts every morning. They offer about 20 varieties of yeast-raised and cake donuts and fritters (called “uglies”) and close the doors when the day’s inventory is gone. Oh, and leave the debit card at home, it’s a cash-only place. — Tom Szaroleta/Florida Times-Union
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Five-O Donut Co.
Multiple locations in Sarasota and Bradenton area;fiveodonutco.com
Christine Nordstrom, a former fine-dining pastry chef whose family operated a doughnut shop in Ohio, made a huge splash in downtown Sarasota seven years ago when she opened Five-O Donut Co. in the spring 2017.
Operating near the courthouse and police station, Nordstrom's shop featured a police theme, with cartoon images of a cop holding a doughnut, crime scene outlines on the floor (also holding doughnuts), and doughnut boxes stamped "evidence." The setting was cute, and the doughnuts were delectable. People could not get enough of her cake, yeast, and croissant doughnuts, which came in a myriad of flavors.
Today, Nordstrom operates five locations across Sarasota and Manatee counties, including her original one by the police station on Ringling Boulevard in downtown Sarasota. — Wade Tatangelo, Florida Region Dining and Entertainment Editor
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Maynard’s Donuts & Coffee, Pensacola
875 E. Nine Mile Road Suite 9 and 2155 W. Nine Mile Road, Pensacola; 850-378-0025, maynardsdonuts.com.
Maynard’s Donuts & Coffee has become a dessert destination in Pensacola, transporting customers back in time to a Willy Wonka-esque world of childlike wonder. The 14-foot pink sprinkled donut outside the storefront greets you and lures you inside to the rows of decorated donuts with flavors straight from the imaginations of Sean Sammon and Tatyana Kolyshkina, who are the husband-and-wife turned bakery owners. Their colorful portfolio ranges in raised donuts, filled bismarks, donut holes and their most famous cake donuts (which you’ll have to get there early for, since they sell out fast.)
The first choice you'll have to make is whether to indulge in one of their more decadent options like their best-selling Bavarian frosted with chocolate and filled with crème, or their more fruit-forward options like the light and whipped Orange Blossom. The owners pride themselves on their team’s creativity, which is why the flavor varieties are constantly rotating, aside from their average of eight stable options served daily.
Some of the more eye-catching creations include their nostalgic PB & J donut, tangy Key Lime Pie, sweet and salty Maple Bacon, crunchy Fruit Pebble, flaky Toasted Coconut, rich Oreo Awesome and tropical Mango Tango. The Maynard’s team works around the clock, 24 hours a day, to start serving fresh donuts each morning starting at 6 a.m. and are always pushing the envelope on new menu options. One of their latest being a donut breakfast sandwich which sandwiches sausage, egg and cheese between two pieces of freshly fried donut dough. — Brittany Misencik, Pensacola News Journal
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Peace, Love & Little Donuts, Naples and St. Augustine
2622 Tamiami Trail N. Naples, and 12 Cathedral Place, St. Augustine;peaceloveandlittledonuts.com
Who says bigger is always better? Peace, Love & Little Donuts has proven that its soft doughnuts one-third the size of traditional ones taste just as delicious. And let's discuss the choices ― all 60 of them. With categories like Funkadelic, Far-Out and Groovy, venture into the galaxy of doughnut options including Banana Split, Strawberry French Toast, Almond Brothers, Heath, Wind and Fire, Snick Jagger and Saigon Cinnamon. ― Dave Osborn, Regional Features Editor, Naples Daily News and News-Press of Fort Myers
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The Salty, West Palm Beach
460 S. Rosemary Ave., suite 170, West Palm Beach, 561-933-1522,saltydonut.com
Nothing says doughnut quite like The Salty, one of South Florida's most beloved pastry makers. What began as a young couple slinging Miami's first craft doughnuts from a 1950s Aljoa camper in 2015 has since grown to become one of the nation's most sought after treats. After opening their first Wynwood shop in 2016, The Salty founders Andy Rodriguez and Amanda Pizarro-Rodriguez have expanded to more than 15 locations across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas, gaining notoriety for their flavorful assortment of brioche, cake, and gluten-free doughnuts.
Visit the West Palm Beach shop and you can't go wrong with longtime, year round signature Salty favorites like the traditional vanilla-glazed or a vanilla cake doughnut dipped in a brown butter glaze and topped with Maldon sea salt. An ever-changing menu means you can also find specialty one-offs and seasonal selections, many in collaboration with local and national artisans, celebrities, and organizations. Most are created using Salty's 24-hour brioche that bakes up into large, fluffy doughnuts designed to deliver decadent fillings and toppings that have ranged from guava and cream cheese to edible cookie dough.
If you're looking for a real treat, however, don't miss the couple's homage to a favorite Latin dessert: the tres leches. Right now across South Florida it's served as a white chocolate bottom-crusted brioche doughnut soaked in a homemade, rum-infused three milk mixture and topped with a torched, vanilla-infused meringue — but in other cities it's offered with a coquito-, strawberry-, or chai-infused milk for a surprising twist. — Nicole Danna, The Palm Beach Post
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TAS-T-O's, Ocala
2205 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala; 352-622-7657;https://tas-t-o-donuts.edan.io/
This tiny, no-frills shop is a beloved Ocala mainstay. The day's offerings are displayed behind a big window. Customers step up to the outside counter, point to what they want, and then walk away with box or bag in hand. There is no seating. Heck, there is barely a parking lot: just a thin strip of asphalt off busy East Silver Springs Boulevard. But what TAS-T-O's lacks in creature comforts it makes up for in quality. The glazed yeast doughnuts are popular, but TAS-T-O's also has cake offerings and all sorts of flavors and sprinkles. No fancy-schmancy concoctions here. Just delicious, old-fashioned goodness. Get there early; TAS-T-O's routinely sells out before closing time. — Jim Ross, Ocala Star Banner
Tastee Donuts, Titusville
4950 S. Washington Ave., Titusville, 321-567-4234
If you want some Tastee Donuts, you need to get there early. The tiny shop opens at 4 a.m. and owner Cheryl Whalen said it’s not unusual to be sold out by 10 a.m. Her husband, Leonard, arrives at the shop at 11:45 p.m. to bake all the doughnuts for the following day. Cheryl shows up between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. The couple runs the show with the help of one other part-time employee. Most of their customers are NASA or space center employees grabbing a bite before heading to work. — Michelle Spitzer, FLORIDA TODAY
Thomas Donut & Snack Shop, Panama City Beach
19208 Front Beach Road; 850-234-8039; https://www.thomasdonutandsnackshop.com/
This shop has been serving up treats since April 1971. "We have fourth-generation customers and young kids come here as a destination to hang out," General Manager Michael Thomas said. "Coming here is a tradition and experience rather than just locals coming to get breakfast." Along with the classic glazed donuts, Thomas also has a wide variety of cake doughnuts and cinnamon twists. New specialty doughnuts are made each day with different flavors. "We have 40 different varieties of doughnuts that we make every day," Michael Thomas said. — DeonTay Smith, Panama City News Herald
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