A Sacramento neighborhood bakery with roots dating back nearly four decades is continuing its family legacy while introducing new flavors, breakfast offerings, and plans for future growth. Donut Time, located at 4411 Elkhorn Boulevard, has been serving generations of customers since 1986, evolving its menu while maintaining the traditional neighborhood bakery experience that helped establish its reputation.
Today, Louv Hann Tea leads the family-operated business as its second-generation owner, having stepped in to take over in 2015.
“Growing up around the bakery gave me a deep appreciation for the early-morning discipline, craftsmanship, and genuine personal connections that define a true neighborhood donut shop,” Tea told What Now in an exclusive interview.
“Taking over gave me the privilege of carrying on our family legacy while introducing a fresh vision for modern bakery and breakfast culture,” he said. “When I took over in 2015, my inspiration was simple: honor the classic flavors our regulars grew up on, while innovating so new generations had exciting reasons to walk through our doors,” Tea said.
That approach has resulted in a menu that combines traditional donuts with specialty pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and an expanded beverage selection. Signature offerings include the original glazed, cinnamon apple fritters, chocolate and maple bars, blueberry cake donuts, and filled varieties such as Bavarian custard, whipped cream, raspberry, and lemon.
Donut Time also offers seasonal specialty creations, including Dubai Chocolate Donuts featuring rich chocolate and crunchy pistachio kataifi, Vietnamese Coffee Donuts, Crème Brûlée Donuts with torched caramelized sugar crust, Salted Apple Caramel Donuts, Pumpkin Cream Donuts, and Cookie Butter Cream Donuts.
Beyond its bakery selection, customers can order breakfast sandwiches featuring fresh eggs, melted cheese, and a choice of ham, bacon, turkey or sausage on warm croissants. The beverage menu includes Vietnamese iced coffee, Thai tea, boba milk tea, smoothies, and blended frappes. Freshness is central to the operation, with baked goods prepared in-house every morning.
“Everything in our display cases is prepared and baked fresh in-house every single morning,” Tea said. “We mix, proof, roll, hand-cut, and fry our yeast donut doughs daily to ensure our glazed donuts have that airy, melt-in-your-mouth texture.”
Work begins well before the shop opens to customers at 5 a.m. daily. Overnight preparation includes mixing dough, fermentation, rolling, cutting, proofing and frying, followed by glazing, filling, and decorating the donuts. Fresh pastries are also baked in preparation for the morning rush.
Located inside Elkhorn Center, the approximately 1,200-square-foot shop features a front service counter, glass bakery display cases, an open beverage and breakfast preparation station, and customer seating. Its location has remained the same since the family’s beginnings in 1986, serving customers throughout Foothill Farms, North Highlands, Antelope and Citrus Heights.
“Donut Time has never been just about selling pastry; it’s about serving as a reliable gathering space that spans generations,” Tea said.
The business has also developed a substantial following through its custom orders and catering offerings. Customers can arrange assorted donut dozens, corporate breakfast boxes, 96-ounce hot coffee totes and sandwich platters for office meetings, school appreciation days and private celebrations. Its giant 12-inch custom letter and number donuts can also be personalized with colors, glazes, and messages for birthdays, graduations, and corporate milestones.
Community support has remained an important part of the family’s involvement in Sacramento. Donut Time partners with local organizations and schools, including Oakdale Elementary School and Creative Connections Arts Academy, as well as youth sports leagues and regional community associations.
That support has also translated into local recognition. The business was recently voted a Gold Medalist for Doughnut Shop in The Sacramento Bee’s Sacramento Favorites readers’ poll. Tea also noted that Donut Time maintains a 4.8-star Google rating and a 4.8-star rating across more than 10,000 DoorDash reviews.
Looking ahead, the family has ambitions to grow the brand while maintaining the qualities that have kept its original location operating for decades. Plans for the coming year also include expanding catering and beverage offerings and introducing seasonal pastries.
“We are currently exploring plans to open a second, larger Donut Time concept in West Roseville,” Tea said. “Rather than opening stores quickly for the sake of volume, we want to grow deliberately — ensuring every new shop provides the same consistency, love, and neighborhood charm our Elkhorn community has trusted since 1986,” Tea said.
