It was the fall of 2021, over 18 months into the pandemic with the days getting shorter and another COVID-19 spike on the horizon. I was feeling down about another winter of masks and rapid tests and was desperate for any reason to be optimistic. With a rambunctious pandemic puppy that desperately needed a walk, I took off from my Oakland apartment with no particular destination in mind. About a half hour later I arrived at Donut Savant, an unassuming corner shop in East Oakland.

The good news: Its jewel-like handcrafted doughnuts shocked me right out of my pandemic malaise. 

The bad news: It ruined all other doughnuts for me. 

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My life was changed on that chilly fall morning, but I can’t pretend I “discovered” the doughnut shop. Donut Savant is almost always included on lists of the Bay Area’s top doughnuts. With their distinctive square shape, the doughnuts are built for social media and have become a favorite of Bay Area food influencers. During busy periods, Donut Savant can sell upward of 2,000 donuts per day.

On Yelp and Google, reviewers write about the doughnuts in tones usually reserved for intense religious experiences. One commenter said the doughnuts “will change your life.” Another wrote that Donut Savant “set the bar for donuts for me!” An even more devout convert added, “If you are looking for a new addiction, look no further.” 

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With testimonials like that, you’d assume the doughnuts were crafted by a world-renowned pastry chef. You’d be wrong. Laurel Davis, the shop’s founder and owner, was working as a business development specialist for Comcast before she started Donut Savant on a whim. Davis had been experimenting with making doughnuts at home and decided she needed a fryer to take her baking to the next level. She went on Craigslist to find one. Instead, she saw that a downtown Oakland doughnut shop was listed on the site. She had no intention of starting a business. But she found herself intrigued by the location, which was near her house and conveniently above a BART station. 

“Anyway, I wound up buying that doughnut shop,” said Davis casually.

Front windows of Donut Savant in Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 20, 2026. 

Doughnuts on display inside Donut Savant of Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 20, 2026. Primarily pictured is the O.M.J, which is “cron’t dough w/ vanilla glaze & jam filling.” 

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