Some places don’t need reinvention. They just need the right people to carry the tradition forward.
In downtown Rutland, Jones’ Donuts has been serving Vermonters for more than a century. Founded in 1923, this old-school Vermont donut shop has been part of local routines for generations, sending people out the door with white bakery boxes before work, school, road trips and ski days.
Now, after a change in ownership in 2026, Jones’ is entering its next chapter. The goal isn’t to turn a century-old donut shop into something completely different. It’s to preserve the scratch-made classics people have loved for decades while adding more rotating specials, new flavors and extended opportunities to actually get your hands on them.
And in a Vermont food world where a single pastry can increasingly approach the price of lunch, there’s another reason I appreciate Jones’: these are still some of the least expensive donuts I’ve found around the state.
A Vermont Donut Shop Dating Back to 1923
Jones’ Donuts has been a fixture in Rutland since 1923, giving it more than 100 years of history in the city.
Think about how much has changed in Vermont since then.
Generations of families have passed through Rutland. Skiing transformed nearby mountains. Downtown businesses came and went. Food trends changed countless times.
And people kept showing up for donuts.
That longevity is a huge part of what makes Jones’ worth visiting. It doesn’t feel like a modern bakery trying to manufacture nostalgia. It’s the actual thing: a neighborhood donut shop with generations of customers behind it.
There are no elaborate displays designed primarily for social media and no need to reinvent what a donut should be.
Just a white box filled with the kind of donuts Vermonters have been eating here for decades.
New Ownership, Same Jones’ Donuts
In 2026, Jones’ Donuts entered a new era under new ownership.
Taking over a business with more than a century of history comes with an unusual challenge. How do you make a place your own without changing the very things people love about it?
At Jones’, the answer appears to be evolution rather than reinvention.
The classics remain important, while rotating specials and more unusual flavors are appearing alongside them more frequently. Extended hours also give customers more opportunities to stop in rather than requiring everyone to operate on an old-school bakery schedule.
The goal isn’t to erase 100 years of tradition. It’s to build on it.
What Donuts Should You Try at Jones’?
If it’s your first visit, I’d start with the classics.
Look for the hand-filled donuts, old-school frosted varieties and maple cream. These are the kinds of straightforward bakery donuts that have kept people coming back to Jones’ generation after generation.
But now there’s another reason to check the case before automatically ordering your usual.
Look for the Rotating Specialty Donuts
The newer chapter at Jones’ includes more rotating specialty flavors, adding some variety without abandoning the traditional lineup.
What’s available can change, which gives regular customers a reason to see what’s new and makes repeat visits a little more interesting.
I’m particularly partial to the raspberry cream when it’s available. It’s exactly the kind of donut I want from a place like Jones’: recognizable, unfussy and very good.
My advice? Get your favorite classic, then add one specialty flavor you’ve never tried. That’s what donut boxes are for.
Find Some of Vermont’s Most Affordable Donuts at Jones
One of the biggest surprises at Jones’ isn’t a particular filling or topping. It’s the price.
These remain some of the least expensive donuts I’ve encountered in Vermont, particularly compared with the increasingly common boutique pastry model.
That’s not a criticism of Vermont’s more elaborate bakeries. I love plenty of those, too. There’s room for laminated pastries, inventive flavors and beautifully decorated donuts that take days to produce.
But there’s also something refreshing about walking into a neighborhood bakery and buying a box of scratch-made donuts without treating it like a luxury purchase.
Jones’ is proof that an excellent Vermont donut doesn’t need boutique pricing or an elaborate concept behind it.
Sometimes you just want a really good donut.
The Early-Morning Donut Shop Tradition Lives On
Part of the appeal of Jones’ is that these donuts still belong to the morning.
This is a bakery where the work begins long before most of Rutland is awake, because that’s how you get fresh donuts into the case for the people stopping in at the beginning of their day.
And there’s something very Vermont about that rhythm.
Pick up a box before heading to the mountain. Bring them into work. Grab a few for a road trip through Southern or Central Vermont. Show up with a dozen when you’re visiting family and immediately become everyone’s favorite person.
Jones’ isn’t trying to make donuts an event.
They’re part of everyday life.
Add Jones’ Donuts to a Rutland, Vermont Food Stop
If you’re traveling through Rutland, Jones’ is an easy addition to your itinerary.
Downtown Rutland makes a natural stop if you’re traveling toward Killington, exploring this part of Vermont or heading through the region on a longer road trip. Instead of simply passing through, stop for coffee and a box of donuts and spend some time exploring the city.
It’s also worth remembering that some of Vermont’s most interesting food traditions aren’t necessarily found in the destinations getting the most attention.
Sometimes they’re in the businesses that have simply kept showing up every morning for decades.
Or, in this case, more than a century.
Why Jones’ Donuts Is Worth Knowing
Vermont has an increasingly exciting bakery scene, and I’m always looking for the next great pastry, unexpected flavor or donut worth planning a detour around.
But places like Jones’ matter for a different reason.
They connect Vermont’s current food scene to the people who came before it.
A bakery founded in 1923 doesn’t survive because every generation completely reinvents it. It survives because people keep finding value in the ritual: waking up, walking through the door, choosing a few favorites and leaving with a white box tucked under an arm.
The new ownership at Jones’ has an opportunity to carry that ritual into another generation while giving customers a few new reasons to keep checking the case.
So yes, try the rotating specialty flavor.
But get a maple cream, too.
Some traditions have lasted 100 years for a reason.
Talk with locals
Comments
Be the first to chime in
Been here? Your tip could save the next visitor a wrong turn.