- November 21, 2024
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Donnie's Donuts owners, Donald and Patti Summerlin. Photos by Alexis Miller
Photos by Alexis Miller
Photos by Alexis Miller
By: Alexis Miller
Patti and Donald Summerlin have come a long way since their first store opening back in 2015. Last month, they learned they had been ranked 12th in Yelp's Top 100 Donut Shops in the U.S.
“It’s like winning the world championship,” Donald Summerlin said.
Donald Summerlin originally had a career in the pharmaceutical business and Patti Summerlin had a career in advertising; neither had any experience making donuts. But in one year, they successfully opened the first Donnie’s Donuts: On Aug. 18, 2015, the Seabreeze location had a soft opening. After the first two weeks, Donald Summerlin was still perfecting his donut recipe, so the Summerlins gave them out for free, hoping for feedback. Once the recipe was perfected, they started selling and applying toppings.
“We created a donut we want to eat and drinks we want to drink,” Patti Summerlin said.
With over 50 different icings, toppings and drizzles, the combinations seem endless. Almost all the donut toppings have stories behind them. Some were recommendations from customers that wound up being a hit, and others being more sentimental. For example, the banana pudding donut is in memory of Patti Summerlin’s mother.
“The lives our donuts have touched is just something,” Patti Summerlin said. “It humbles us, and we are very thankful.”
The No. 12 ranking isn’t the first recognition for Donnie's Donuts. Not only have the Summerlins opened four shops (three of them still being open) as well as a food truck; they also have won the TripAdvisor Travelers Choice award in 2020, putting them in the top 10% of all establishments. This gave the Summerlins more advertisement and positive feedback. Donnie’s Donuts has never paid for advertising; it’s always just been social media and good word from others.
The company's social media has connected people around the world. On some posts on Instagram, you can see comments from people around the U.S. and in other countries such as Canada, Great Britain, and Japan — all talking about Donnie’s Donuts.
“We are a local, community donut shop that has become world famous,” Donald Summerlin said.
What's next? The Summerlins are thinking of expansion, which has them asking each other this question: “How can we take the donuts everywhere and it still be our donut?”
Donald and Patti Summerlin's motto is, “Our customers are the owners, and our employees are our partners." They added: "Without them, we have nothing.”
Visit https://www.yelp.com/article/yelps-top-100-us-donut-shops-2022.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 3:15 p.m. Friday, June 24, to reflect the correct name of the ranking list. A previous version of this story stated Donnie's had ranked 12th in Google's Yelp Top 100 Donut Shops in the U.S.
