Celebrated on the first Friday in June, National Donut Day was created by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served donuts to soldiers in the first World War. Today, National Donut Day is a great excuse to pick up a donut on the way to work or when you’re heading home. Really any time will do on National Donut Day! With artisanal donut shops all over San Diego, it’s easy to celebrate Donut Day with a local shop. Don’t know where to celebrate? Donut worry, we’re here to tell you about all of the best places to get your donut fix.
Devil’s Dozen Donut Shop
Little Italy
Devil’s Dozen Donut Shop is known for their high-quality ingredients, fluffy texture, and delicious dough varieties – including French, Italian, and Japanese styles. Devil’s Dozen Donuts are baked hourly to ensure quality and flavor. They offer classic flavors like Chocolate, Cinnamon Sugar, and Vanilla Bean. As well as more unconventional flavors like Irish Cream, Lucky Charms, and Key Lime. Pair your selection with fresh coffee from Dark Horse to make Devil’s Dozen the perfect breakfast stop. To celebrate National Donut Day, the first twenty customers to order a Devil’s Dozen will receive a free mini donut and donut pool floaties! Can’t make it for National Donut Day? Stop by Devil’s Dozen after our Downtown San Diego Walking Tour every Friday and Saturday.
V.G. Donut & Bakery
Cardiff-by-the-Sea
Donuts by the beach, anyone? A local favorite, V.G Donut & Bakery specializes in what they call the old-fashioned style of baking. Donuts are baked fresh twice daily at 4 am and 4 pm. V.G., which stands for Very Good, offers Classic Glazed, Apple Fritter, Cinnamon Twist, Buttercream Filled, and their always popular Donut Bites, which can be purchased by the dozen- just to name a few! Next time you’re in North County, grab some donuts before you head to the beach to make it the sweetest day yet.
Nomad Donuts
North Park
Famous for their small batches and handcrafted recipes made with local ingredients, Nomad offers an ever-evolving menu that they release in three-day increments on Facebook. Nomad draws flavor inspiration from all over the globe, which is how they continue to bake such creative offerings. Nomad Donuts is truly unlike any other with flavors like Tamarind Banana and Pink Lemonade selling out before classics like Glazed and Chocolate. And for the vegans, Nomad releases just as many vegan offerings as non-vegan! This National Donut Day, Nomad will be giving their first 500 customers a free Maple, Chocolate, or Vanilla donut with any purchase.
Donut Bar
Downtown
Probably the most famous of the donut shops on our list is Donut Bar. The owner of Donut Bar, Chef Santiago, has become somewhat of a celebrity sharing his donuts with Conan O’Brien, Ellen Degeneres and Ryan Seacrest on daytime tv. Back home in San Diego, the Donut Bar is famous for its custom Donut Walls (seen above.) But aside from all of the fame, Donut Bar’s donuts are so delicious that they sell out almost every day. Some favorites include the classic Homer’s Donut, Creme Brulee, and the Instagrammable Nutella Overload. Donut sleep on this amazing donut shop!
Mary’s Donuts
El Cajon, Santee, Lakeside
Last but not least, one of San Diego’s most beloved donut shops, Mary’s Donuts. Mary’s is known for its excellent customer service and involvement within the East County community. This mom and pop shop never ceases to fulfill your donut cravings with their Lakeside and Santee locations open 24 hours a day! They offer a wide variety of donuts- their must-have’s include the Apple Fritter, Custard, Raspberry-Filled Cream Puffs, Maple Bacon, and Tasty Crumb. If that wasn’t enough to make you start craving donuts, Mary’s specializes in custom designed donuts like the ones seen above.
We hope you satisfy your sweet tooth this National Donut Day! Tag us on Facebook so we can see where you’re celebrating.
