When a small shop in Zanesville was named the best donut shop in America in June 2025, the reaction was not what anyone expected. Out-of-state license plates filled the lot. The entire day’s production sold out by 10:30 in the morning. Reporters called from around the country, and people started asking the owner for his autograph, which he found frankly baffling. Then the shop went out and won the whole thing again in 2026.
Donald’s Donuts, founded by Donald and Barbara Warne, opened in 1960 and sits on Maple Avenue about an hour east of Columbus, just off Interstate 70. Their son Tom bought it with his cousin Jon Gaylord in 2007 and has been the sole owner since 2015. His daughter Frances is the general manager, which puts three generations of the family in the building. Production starts as early as 12:30 a.m.
Depending on the day, the bakery produces 600 to 700 dozen donuts across 45 different types, and most of them cost about a dollar each. If you’re working through the best donut shops in America, this is the one that actually won the title, and the owner’s explanation for it is disarmingly simple: “we have the number one fan base in America.”
What to Expect When Visiting Donald’s Donuts in Zanesville, Ohio
The cream-filled is the bestseller and has been for years, with chocolate and maple trading the top spot and chocolate usually winning. That comes straight from Frances Warne, who also names the plain yeast glazed, the honey buns, and the glazed cinnamon roll as the basics the shop does better than anybody, and the jelly-filled as her own favorite.
The apple fritter is the item travelers drive for. Reviewers who pass through Zanesville on I-70 describe it as the best in Ohio and make a habit of stopping, and the cream sticks have converted people who claim not to like donuts at all. Chocolate jelly rounds out the short list of things regulars insist on…