BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio — Every year on National Doughnut Day, hundreds of people flock to Butler County to conquer The Donut Trail.

Central Pastry Shop is where the sweet treat may be found.

Apple fritters, the cinnamon squares and fried danishes are some of the fan favorites at the Central Pastry Shop. Store President Vera Slamka and her team bake them fresh every morning. 

“Our donuts are amazing,” said Slamka.

The Central Pastry Shop, which has been serving donuts for 75 years, is just one of 13 mom-and-pop doughnut shops that are part of Butler County’s Donut Trail.

The Donut Dude is also another participating business. Co-owner Glen Huey opened it at the start of the pandemic. 

“We are known for our apple fritters and for fried croissants, and people generally go for our custard and white crème,” said Huey.

People travel from all over to try the doughnuts on the trail. In order to participate, people need their trail passports and need to visit at least 12 shops. Anyone who completes the passport earns a Donut Trail shirt.

Shop employees are in the shops early to prepare for National Doughnut Day.

“We usually come in around midnight or 1 a.m. and that’s the latest we start and we make fresh doughnuts every day,” he said. 

People are lined up as early as 6 a.m. to get their hands on one of their favorite treats. That’s why Huey and his crew made more than 3,000 donuts for the day. 

“We’ll have a real hard rush until 10:30 a.m. or so and then it will back off and our regulars are done getting their doughnuts and then we’ll have other people come in for the first time,” he said. 

Despite the long hours of preparation and morning rush, Huey said nothing beats seeing his customers on National Doughnut Day.

“Everybody’s happy when they’re buying doughnuts, when they’re eating doughnuts, and being a part of Donut Trail exposes us to a lot of people as they come in,” he said. 

This is the sixth year of The Donut Trail and it doesn't have to be National Doughnut Day to take part.

“Every year, you can look for this to grow more and more and more with the exposure of the Donut Trail,” he said. “And The Donut Dude, I expect it to get bigger and bigger.”