Today’s donut adventure probably won’t make it into the Top 10 List. I realize not all donuts will be tasty, not all donut shops will be full of character or located in a beautiful area and today’s visit hit on all of those.
Em and I headed to Excelsior Springs a little later than we usually do since I had done the Groundhog Run earlier in the morning. In hindsight, I should have snagged the cold Krispy Kreme donuts at the race! We didn’t reach Daylight Donuts until after 11 a.m. Located next door to a payday loan establishment, the parking lot was empty except for a couple of other cars. Only one other customer was inside the donut shop. The selection was small but perhaps that was due to our lateness.
We chatted for a minute with the gal behind the counter (presumably the franchise owner) and she said that particular location had been there for five years. The walls were decorated with crafty-tacky wreaths that were for sale and a few of the tables had snowman themed decorations and games on them.
The donut selection was basic with some interesting additions, including large apple fritters and donuts with pink frosting and red/green sprinkles, some with Christmas tree shaped sprinkles. (Hello? Isn’t it late January?) I ordered a chocolate glazed yeast donut and a chocolate cake donut with cookie crumbs on top plus an un-filled long john and a raspberry filled donut to take home to my hubby. Em had a sugared yeast donut and a chocolate with peanuts donut. I think Em said something like, “This would be good if it were fresh,” after having just one bite. I was thinking the same thing. My donut was pretty dried out, not like it was made that morning. Sure it was approaching noon, but I’ve taken home donuts from other shops in the morning and snacked on them in the afternoon and had a fresher donut.
Another observation was the coconut taste in both my chocolate cookie crumb donut and Em’s chocolate peanut donut. I’m not sure where the coconut flavor came from. It wasn’t bad, just unexpected. The donuts were on the smaller side, perhaps about 2/3 the size of a Krispy Kreme donut.
Perhaps the most interesting part of our visit was the large number of family members and friends of the proprietor that rolled in close to closing time, 12 Noon. One fella walked behind the counter and helped himself to several donuts. I was a little grossed out that someone walked in off of the street and stuck his hand into the bakery case, but I guess that happens at the grocery store and gas station bakery counters and I’ve still consumed more than a few of those donuts. Several teenagers were loudly conversing near the bakery case and the owner seemed bothered by the only other customers that came in while we were there. Perhaps we had all disrupted her Sunday late morning routine by attempting to buy some fluffy donut goodness.
When I returned home, John opened his donut doggie bag and asked why I had brought two chocolate donuts. He didn’t get the raspberry filled donut I ordered, but instead got a chocolate Bismark. I guess it’s hard to get the order right when you have no other customers besides us to help. Sigh.
Next week I hope to visit a “sure thing” donut shop, the kind everyone raves about…a local establishment, not a franchise or a chain place. That will require getting up early to ensure a good selection and great people-watching. I’m going to go set the alarm clock right now!
Daylight Donuts is located at 500 St. Louis Avenue in Excelsior Springs, MO.
My mom and I tried Daylight Donuts a few years back and had just about the same experience. We moved to Excelsior from Cameron (where Sweet Al's Donuts on Walnut Street had spoiled us for many, many years (if you're still on a donut quest, I highly suggest adding this to your list. Unless they've gone downhill in the past few years, it's a must!!) and were hoping to find a comparable substitute. It did nothing of the sort. We were sorely disappointed.
Annie-
I'm adding Sweet Al's to my list. I grew up not far from there, yet didn't think of it. Thanks! And congratulations on your wedding. Can't wait to hear how the sweet treats worked out for your guests!
this is a formal request for the ower of this blog to reach me at donna.snelling@yahoo.com. i would like to speak to you about the review you have posted about my donut shop.
I know this review is a few years old, but when I Googled Daylight Donuts Excelsior, this is one of the first things that comes us, so I thought it’s worth adding my experience.
I recently went to this location and had a really good experience; everything tasted great, there was a great selection–even various kinds of sprinkles–the long johns were filled to order–2 kinds of creme even, and there was a good atmosphere inside–one that you would expect from a small town shop: people were gathered, relaxed talking. Outside were many work trucks, and the place had a very blue collar vibe when I was there. It was welcoming, people greeted me when I came in, I felt I could have stayed there all day talking to strangers about the weather. It’s that kind of place.
As far as the owners being rude, I bought 6 donuts, and in that short time, I learned the year the place was opened, where everybody lived, and that one of the owners was a former chef at Ameristar. Nobody came across as rude in the least.
What kind of criticism is, “The donuts were on the smaller side, perhaps about 2/3 the size of a Krispy Kreme donut.”
First of all, which one are you talking about, donuts are of many sizes? I tend to think of Krispy Kreme as being on the small size. The Krispy Kreme glazed is definitely smaller than your typical glazed. If you’re saying KK glaze is larger than Daylight’s cake, then, yes, but that’s true of every cake on the planet. I’ve never in my life heard anyone complain about the size of a donut. Give me a break.
And the sprinkles? They can’t finish out their can of holiday sprinkles? SPRINKLES TASTE THE SAME, NO MATTER THE SHAPE. If people’s lights are still up, I say it’s cool. You realize this is a locally owned franchise, right? This isn’t a mega corporation that gets credit for returning unused holiday merchandise. This is a petty criticism.
About you getting the wrong one, I don’t believe that story. This isn’t McDonalds where everything is made behind a counter and put in a bag and you just hope you get everything you ordered. At a donut shop, you point to what you want, and the person gets it. So you’re trying to tell me you didn’t watch the entire time the worker got 12 donuts for you, or were they so lightning fast that you couldn’t keep up? Puh-leaze. And then when you got home, you husband, or whoever, actually said, “Why did you bring me two of the same donut?” Yeah right. That would require a donut snob the degree of which I do not believe exists–a person so jaded and spoiled that they demand, and actually will complain if they get 2 of the same donut? Don’t believe it.
I’ve never in my life looked away while someone was filling my donut order for me; it’s flat out not done. When you go to the deli counter, you don’t watch the person grab your meat and weight it? Of course you watch, that’s the direction you’re facing. Where else were you facing?
Or did you walk in just before closing time and rattle off 12 donuts to the elderly owner, hoping they’d forget ONE and give you something to write about.
“We didn’t reach Daylight Donuts until after 11 a.m”
“The selection was small but perhaps that was due to our lateness.”
This is somebody’s business. This is somebody’s life. Get real.
If you want machine punched, perfectly measured, corporate approved, soulless, mass market-tested junk, go to Krispy Kreme.