By Brian Fleming
If you grew up in Burlington, you may recall the sweet aroma of fresh-baked donuts drifting from the kitchens of Donutland or Harold’s Spudnut along the Roosevelt Avenue corridor.
Since both of those donut dynasties have shuttered, Hanna Parkins and her partners felt it was time to bring back the frosted frenzy with a new donut dreamland.
Parkins outlined the vision behind the business.
“Since freshly baked donuts were no longer available in Burlington, our business partners decided to fill that ‘donut hole’ with Dewey’s Donuts,” she said.
Dewey’s Donuts operates inside Dame Fine Coffee at 3125 E. Agency St. in Burlington.
“There was a desire in southeast Iowa for fresh-baked daily donuts. Hy-Vee and Dunkin’ Donuts are brought in frozen, then thawed and baked. Ours are made fresh, from scratch, every day in Ottumwa,” Parkins said.
Parkins said staff members make the trip to Main Street Donuts in Ottumwa at 3 a.m. each day “to pick them up fresh and ready for our shop’s opening at 7 a.m.”
Dewey’s sends its orders to Ottumwa each afternoon based on inventory needs and seasonal demand.
For the fresh-baked record, Taste and Seek, a bakery and faith-filled boutique that opened in downtown Burlington in 2025, specializes in allergy-friendly, gluten-free and sugar-free baked goods and treats, but does not make donuts.
Wingert Bakehaus, meanwhile, offers fresh daily donuts made with sourdough alongside pizzas, breads, wings, soups and lunch boxes, placing it in a somewhat different niche than Dewey’s.
Dillon Vancil, owner and operator of seven Dame Fine Coffee locations in Iowa and Illinois, decided to add fresh donuts to the Burlington menu in January through a retail partnership with Dewey’s.
Parkins, who already worked for Dame Fine Coffee, was eager to help lead the new venture.
“We opened Jan. 15 and have been growing ever since. We have two businesses under one roof with the convenience of drive-thru service for coffee, drinks and donuts,” Parkins said.
On most days, Dewey’s offers dozens of options for customers craving sticky buns, sweet rolls, turnovers, cinnamon rolls, fritters and traditional donuts.
The business sees about 60 percent of its sales through the drive-thru and 40 percent through walk-in and dine-in customers.
“We sell a ton of our staples and traditional ring donuts, but our customers really love our stuffed, premium donuts too. We bring in between 300 and 500 per day during the week and up to 1,000 on weekends,” Parkins said.
Ordering inventory can be tricky depending on customer demand and changing preferences.
“It comes down to what people want more of. It just depends on the day,” she said.
Dewey’s discounts any remaining unsold inventory, and after 48 hours the leftovers are donated to the Salvation Army. Discounts also are available for schools, workplaces and other organizations hosting events.
“We want to be involved in this community and provide a unique product at affordable prices,” Parkins said.
Dewey’s donuts are priced slightly higher than donuts sold at Dunkin’ or Hy-Vee, but Parkins believes the quality justifies the cost.
“We believe our fresh-baked products deserve a bit of a premium price. We are working with our supplier to make some adjustments and hope to be the same price as Casey’s or any other store-bought donuts soon,” she said.
As the business works to build a reliable customer base, Parkins said customer feedback remains a priority.
“We are starting to advertise more and continuously listening to our regulars. If they haven’t liked something, we typically won’t reorder based on that feedback,” Parkins said. “We get customers at all hours of the day. And in bad weather, we offer DoorDash and get orders from them every day.”
As a new mom with a 9-month-old child, Parkins said she is thankful for a dependable staff willing to make the early morning trips to Ottumwa when needed.
“Fortunately, we haven’t missed an order or pickup yet,” she said.