Who doesn’t love a doughnut? Doughnuts are a breakfast or meeting munchie staple and a perennial favorite snack for any time of day. And with National Doughnut Day coming up on June 4, you might be craving one of the doughy, delicious circular treats.
You’re probably most familiar with the standard American donut chains Krispy Kreme and Dunkin’. Greenville has two Krispy Kreme locations and a whopping 13 Dunkin’ locations within city limits.
But what if you want a doughnut sourced from a smaller, more independent business? Something that offers you a more interesting eating experience? Greenville’s options for smaller doughnut shops are limited, but what we have is definitely worth the visit.
Duck Donuts
15-minute drive from BJU
Website: duckdonuts.com
We’re breaking our own rules by including this one in our list — normally we steer clear of chain restaurants on principle. But Duck Donuts — a smaller restaurant chain that started in 2007, named after its hometown of Duck, North Carolina — offers an experience we couldn’t exclude.
Duck Donuts builds custom doughnuts. You can choose from the favorite flavors menu or request your own combination of icings and toppings. You pay per doughnut, not per topping, so you’ll pay $1.85 for your pastry no matter how many toppings you pile on.
The base is a fresh-out-of-the-fryer vanilla cake doughnut that’s served still warm enough to keep the icing gooey. Their most popular doughnut is their maple bacon doughnut, topped with maple icing and a generous scoop of bacon bits.
If you’re interested in exceptional service and a unique eating experience, it’s worth giving Duck Donuts a try.
HenDough Chicken and Donuts
10-minute drive from BJU
Website: hendough.com
HenDough’s cachet is its unique menu — they combine doughnuts with fried chicken. Hendough serves both Greenville, South Carolina, and Hendersonville, North Carolina. The Greenville location is one of the food stations in Gather Greenville, our city’s premier outdoor dining experience. You order at a window and take your food to one of the tables, benches or covered seating areas in the Gather Greenville eating arena.
HenDough serves breakfast and lunch with a menu featuring items such as the Donut Breakfast Sandwich, Donut French Toast and a range of breakfast biscuit options as well as creative chicken sandwiches (fried chicken and pimento cheese, anyone?). Their doughnut list includes yeast, cake and filled doughnuts as well as bear claws and fritters.
Their price point is slightly higher (the Donut French Toast entrée is $10), but their prices are fair for the local flavor, fresh offerings and portion sizes.
Honorable mentions
Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery
Swamp Rabbit doesn’t specialize in doughnuts, but it does offer them. Their cafe includes fresh strawberry and chocolate donuts that are gluten free and vegan.
Farm Fresh FAST
This delivery service for locally sourced meals tailored to dietary needs and preferences like gluten free or vegan also sells delicious gluten-free doughnuts.
Golden Brown & Delicious
GB&D is a locally owned and operated restaurant that serves breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. Their menu is capricious, but they have a reputation for good doughnuts. Every Sunday morning they feature their donuts at Village Grind, an independent coffee house in downtown’s West End.
Catch up on our Around Greenville series to see more of what our city and the area around it has to offer.
