This Illinois Donut Shop Is The Last Of It’s Kind In All Of America

Decades ago there was a donut competition in America. If you were alive in the 1970s or 1980s you might even remember two of the major players in the dough industry. In fact, there's even a connection to Dunkin' Donuts, now known simply as 'Dunkin.'

If you're still drawing a blank on who could have possibly competed with Dunkin' Donuts during the disco and hair band eras, maybe more clues will help. This donut shop served the self-proclaimed "world's best coffee" and, no, it's not Starbucks. The founder of this donut shop originally worked alongside the founder of Dunkin'.

Do You Remember Mister Donuts?

At one point there were almost 500 stores in the United States in a short amount of time. The chain even bigger after franchising and new stores popped up overseas. At one point Mister Donut was Dunkin' Donuts' main competitor. The war was hard fought but there could only be one victor.

As history shows, Mister Donut became stale in America, pun intended. Sales declined and the parent company of Dunkin' bought most of the stores and rebranded them to be Dunkin' Donuts locations. This didn't completely wipe out the once famous donut shops.

Business Is Booming In Japan

Though Mister Donut was nearly irradiated in the states, it's one of the most popular stores in Japan, even than Dunkin'. But, there's still a chance to grab a donut from the original recipe as well as that "world's best" cup of coffee.

The only remaining Mister Donut on American soil is in Godrey, Illinois at 2720 Grovelin Street. It's rated 4-stars on Yelp.

[h/t Atlas Obscura]