Some corners of Old Town just smell like good memories. Ours is one of them. This little shop has been making doughnuts for decades; warm mini doughnuts have rolled off this very counter for generations of Sacramento kids. For 22 years it was Danny's Doughnuts, and when those recipes were handed down to us, we knew exactly what we were being trusted with.
Mad Hatter Doughnuts is the two of us: a brother and sister who joined forces to keep this place what it has always been, somewhere you walk out happier than you walked in. Same counter, same recipes, same fresh mini doughnuts, plus Gunther's ice cream, a full espresso bar, and chili cheese everything.
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Decades ago
A Doughnut Shop Is Born
This building has been home to doughnuts for generations. The fryer has outlasted trends, owners, and quite a few diets.
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22 years
The Danny's Doughnuts Era
Danny owned and ran this shop for 22 years, perfecting the mini doughnut recipes that were eventually passed down to us.
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2 years
The Mad Hatter Years
Jerome took the counter next and ran it for two years under a brand-new name: Mad Hatter Doughnuts.
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Today
A Family Takes the Keys
Brother and sister, side by side, carrying the recipes forward and adding a little extra madness of our own.
For our Nana, Maria Ramirez
We were raised by our grandmother, and no one shaped us more. Our happiest childhood memories are the small ones: her hand around ours, an ice cream cone, a warm doughnut, nothing fancy, everything perfect. That feeling is what we are really serving here. Every scoop and every sprinkle is a thank-you to her.
And Nana loved to dance. The moment the oldies came on she was moving, and she would pull us up to dance with her. That is why oldies but goodies play in our shop every day: when you hear them, that is her music. Feel free to dance.
Nana always said we were a little mad. "You crazy in the head," she would tell us, laughing. She was right. Now it is on the sign.
So that is the mission: keep a historic doughnut shop alive, treat every guest like family, and send you out the door with the kind of small, sweet memory that lasts. Come by, stay a while, and don't be late for this very important date.