Entry No. 50 — the Memphis file — filed under: donuts
Gibson's Donuts
Gibson's opened on Mt. Moriah in 1967; Don DeWeese was a regular customer who bought it in 1996 as an investment and wound up working the kitchen himself, and the city has since renamed the stretch out front Don DeWeese Boulevard. He calls it the largest one-owner, one-location doughnut shop in the country, and told WREG he'd already turned out 700 dozen before nine in the morning. The dough rises three times and goes through a 50-year-old glazer that coats both sides, which is why a fresh glazed sags a little when you pick it up. It ran around the clock for decades — Alton Brown put it on 'The Best Thing I Ever Ate,' and there are two books about the place sold at the counter — but after a late-night security scare that spooked the kitchen staff, it now shuts at midnight and reopens at 5 a.m. When February's ice storm closed it for three days, a server said they couldn't keep the cases full once the doors opened again.
→ Three more weird eats & drinks in Memphis — never the same twice
The story
Gibson's opened on Mt. Moriah Road in 1967. Don DeWeese was a customer, not a baker, when he bought it from the Gibson family in 1996; the city has since renamed the stretch of road out front Don DeWeese Boulevard. He calls the shop the largest one-owner, one-location doughnut shop in the United States, has never franchised it, and works it now alongside his son Britton, the general manager, who says nothing about the recipe or the method has really changed in fifty years.
The method is the point. The dough is left to rise three times. The kitchen still runs on its original equipment, which occasionally has to be welded back together, including an antique glazer about fifty years old that DeWeese says cannot be bought anywhere now — it lays a light glaze on both sides, sealing the moisture in, which is why a fresh one sags a little when you lift it. Everything is made by hand from scratch: cake and yeast doughnuts, fritters, holes, cinnamon rolls, eclairs. First-timers get a warm one handed over the counter.
It ran around the clock for decades, long enough for Alton Brown to name it on The Best Thing I Ever Ate and for two books to end up for sale by the register — Britton's children's book The Donut Shop That Never Sleeps, which started as a rap, and Stephen Douglas Williford's The Donut Man, about his father. Then an incident inside spooked the overnight cooks, and DeWeese closed the counter from midnight to 5 a.m. — "nothing good happens after midnight," as he put it — though the bakers keep working through the dark hours because the shop sells that much. When February 2026's winter storm shut it for three days, a server told WREG they couldn't keep doughnuts in the case once the doors reopened.
What it's like
It is a strip-mall counter in East Memphis with a free lot and an old neon sign, not a cafe — a handful of seats, glass cases, and a weekend-morning line that reaches the door and still moves fast. You order by the piece or the dozen and eat in the car. Selection is best early; late in the evening you take what is left, because the cases genuinely empty out. There is no working website, so call (901) 682-8200 rather than hunting for hours online, and check the Facebook page for anything else. Dithering at the case is normal and nobody hurries you — DeWeese's standing rule is that kids get to order for themselves at their own pace.
The move: The move: catch whatever's playing in Midtown, then drive out Mt. Moriah before the midnight cutoff. Order one maple bacon, one 15-minute-old cinnamon roll (DeWeese's own pick), and a coffee, and eat them in the car under the neon sign while the line keeps shuffling past. It's a ten-minute detour that will end the night better than another round would have.
📍 Before you go 5 a.m. to midnight daily — it is NOT 24 hours anymore, so the 3 a.m. run is off the table. (901) 682-8200; there's no working website, the Facebook page is the de facto one. Takeout counter with only a few seats; weekend-morning lines run out the door but move quickly. Free strip-mall lot in East Memphis, next door to a Batteries Plus, roughly 15 minutes from downtown.
- 📍 Memphis
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 760 Mt Moriah Rd, Memphis, TN 38117
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Barons Bar + Barbershop (speakeasy) — Two-tenths of a mile away on S Mendenhall, same zip code: cocktails through the two-way mirror at the back of a working barbershop, then doughnuts before the midnight cutoff.
- East End Skating Center — Further out the same road at 5718 Mt Moriah — Friday adult skate runs 9 p.m. to midnight, which ends exactly when Gibson's shuts its doors, so the drive back is the whole plan.
- Comics & Collectibles — Two-thirds of a mile north on Poplar, open until 6 p.m., for the daytime version: back issues and vintage toy bins first, fritters after.
More weird in Memphis
Good to know
Is it still open 24 hours?
No, and several travel listings are out of date on this. After an incident that unsettled the overnight cooks, the counter now runs 5 a.m. to midnight daily. The kitchen still bakes through the closed hours to keep up, but you cannot buy anything at 3 a.m.
How do I get there and where do I park?
760 Mt Moriah Rd, Memphis, TN 38117 — a free strip-mall lot in East Memphis, next door to a Batteries Plus, roughly fifteen minutes out from downtown. The road out front is signed Don DeWeese Boulevard on part of its length, which is the same road, not a different one.
What should I order?
The maple bacon is the one Memphis blogs point at, and the glazed shows off the fifty-year-old double-sided glazer better than anything else on the tray. Beyond that: cake and yeast doughnuts, fritters, holes, cinnamon rolls and eclairs. Expect to spend under $10 for two people.
Can I sit down and eat there?
Barely. It is a takeout counter with a few seats, so most people carry the box out. Weekend mornings the line runs out the door but turns over quickly, and the staff greet first-timers by tossing them a warm one.
Does weather ever close it?
Rarely, but yes — the February 2026 winter storm shut it for three days, and when it reopened the cases could not be kept full. If ice is on the roads, call before driving over.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: actionnews5.com · wreg.com · choose901.com · memphistravel.com
last checked: 2026-08-26