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Inside 2 San Diego County donut shops ranked the best in US

Generic donuts
Posted at 4:29 PM, Jun 03, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-03 22:29:16-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — June 3 is National Donut Day and some of the nation's best donuts are found right here in San Diego County.

Friday, ABC 10News had a chance to check out the two local shops that made it on Yelp's newly published list.

“When you come in you get to pick a donut off of our 40 donuts, and then you get a fresh hot donut, it comes straight into the fryer, into the box and then into your hands,” said Broad Street Dough Co. owner Marianna Lacerva.

The Encinitas franchise got started by Lacerva's sister-in-law who owns two shops in New Jersey.

“My father owned restaurants growing up and I saw him working his butt off every single day,” said Lacerva.

Lacerva opened the Encinitas location in 2020 and is now ranked the 37th best donut shop in the U.S.

RELATED: Yelp: 2 San Diego County donut shops among best in US for 2022

“It’s huge for us because we didn’t do this to be in a competition, we didn’t do this to be the best. For us to get this kind of recognition it’s huge for us,” said Lacerva.

Meantime, Sesame Donuts in Carmel Mountain Ranch selling out by the second.

Store owners Chin and Jenny Kim opened the donut shop more than 27 years ago. The storefront was previously owned by a friend of theirs from Korea.

“They want to make a franchise but we say no, this is good enough for living,” said Chin.

Chin works in the kitchen churning 43 different kinds of hand-made donuts; which were rated as the 6th best in U.S. making it number one in California.

Chin says he owes their success to his partner in crime — his wife.

“Customers showing up here one month, two month, and she remembers," said Chin.

Sesame Donuts is open 24 hours and located on 11040 Rancho Carmel Drive. The shop is best known for its “King Donuts,” which are the size of at least 6 regular glazed donuts, according to Yelp.

Broad Street Dough Co. is open daily and located on 967 South Coast Highway 101. They feature a variety of wildly unique creations on its menu.