What began as an opportunity to bring a different kind of donut shop to the area has grown into a six-location Parlor Donuts operation spanning from Jacksonville and St. Augustine to St. Johns County and Gainesville. For local franchise owner Izzy Guibas and his business partners, that growth has been driven by their trust in the concept and in the communities they serve.
Guibas owns the franchise operation alongside his wife, Rosa Guibas, and co-franchisees Craig Sheets and Rebecca Mullin. The group first discovered Parlor Donuts in 2022, when the brand was beginning to open its franchising opportunities.
“We were really impressed, number one, with the donuts themselves,” Guibas told What Now in an exclusive interview. “The other thing that attracted us was the ownership’s background and how they set up the whole concept.”
Originally founded in Evansville, Indiana, Parlor Donuts began as a family-owned venture, a concept created by a father and son, centered on bringing people together over donuts. The locations have Americana-inspired decor and a family-friendly environment that differentiate them from a run-of-the-mill donut shop.
Parlor Donuts offers a different take on traditional donuts, featuring butter-layered dough that is fried and finished with various toppings, and additional menu items like coffee, standard barista-style beverages, breakfast tacos, and specialty sandwiches.
The franchise group’s first location opened in May 2022, converting a small coffee shop the partners previously owned into their debut store. Growth accelerated the following year, when they opened four additional locations across Northeast Florida, bringing the brand to Jacksonville Beach, St. Augustine Beach, St. Johns County, and Fleming Island.
The operation’s most recent addition came in 2025 with a smaller food truck concept in Gainesville, near the University of Florida. Today, the group operates six locations across the region.
With this spread of locations, they have the opportunity to serve a variety of customer bases, from beachgoers and tourists to families and university communities. The Jacksonville Beach and St. Augustine locations benefit from their proximity to popular visitor destinations, while the other shops are positioned near residential neighborhoods and established shopping centers in family-oriented areas.
The community’s reception to Parlor Donuts arrival in the towns has been “very positive” and “very well received”, Guibas says.
“The most rewarding part is really the bond that we make with the communities and a lot of repeat customers, especially when they’re bringing in their families. Creating some of those personal connections with the community, schools, and churches has been great.”
Looking ahead, the ownership group is considering opportunities to expand its footprint into additional markets down the state’s eastern coastline, potentially reaching toward Daytona. The partners already hold rights to a few other markets, but want to ensure they are methodical with their growth.
”It’s a possibility in the future, but we don’t have a hard set timeline yet,” he explained.
