![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/TheOriganalDonutShop_TacosTexMex_DriveThruOrdering_ToGoOrders_FredericksburgRoad_SmallLocalBusiness_.jpeg\")
Donuts and breakfast tacos are a standard order at the Original Donut Shop. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\nThe Original Donut Shop pulses with history and buzzes with energy. It can be \u201cGroovin\u2019\u201d with a vibe from 1967 or \u201cLivin La Vida Loca\u201d like it\u2019s 1999.<\/p>\n
There are few customers from the \u201cShake, Rattle and Roll Days\u201d of 1954, the year it opened on Fredericksburg Road. But there are plenty of regulars that bridge multiple generations: from the Beatles and the donuts-only menu in the 1960s to Bad Bunny and the breakfast tacos of today.<\/p>\n
John Talamantez, 88, moved into the neighborhood near Jefferson High School in 1968. He drove his wife and daughters to \u201cHot Donuts,\u201d as it was originally known, every Sunday after Mass. Today, his granddaughter, Krystal Taylor, serves as the Original Donut Shop bookkeeper.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started coming when I was a little girl in kindergarten, around 1989-1990,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cNow I bring my kids.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s four generations of devotion. \u201cI\u2019ll have 10 bean and cheese tacos and a dozen donuts to go, please!\u201d Then out the drive-thru they\u2019d go \u2014 Vroom! \u2014 in their classic Chevrolet.<\/p>\n
The shop has sold donuts since the Eisenhower administration. Breakfast tacos, though, came along sometime during the Tex-Mex boom of the 1970s. <\/p>\n
Donuts and breakfast tacos are a standard order at the Original Donut Shop. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
Lora Scarsdale Gonzalez remembers picking up tacos and donuts when she was a student at Jefferson and working at H-E-B.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy senior year (1975-76), I kept going back because they were good and I could afford them,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd, of course, the donuts always made my boss overlook that I was late again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fifty years later, The Original Donut Shop brims with patrons. It can be challenging to get in. Last Friday, Taylor arrived for work but found every parking space filled. Vehicles from both drive-thru lines spilled onto Fredericksburg Road, forming a clog of traffic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI drove around the building six times looking for a spot,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was packed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Taylor finally located a parking spot at a store behind the gas station next door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Original is the only eatery in town with one drive-thru line for donuts and another for tacos. When those two lines began is a mystery. Just like the first year the donut shop began selling tacos. Nobody knows for sure.<\/p>\n
Media stories conflict. One says 1978<\/a>. Another says early 80s<\/a>. Newspaper<\/a> archives provide no clear answers. Current owner Millicent Clark, daughter of original owner Patrick Morris, did not respond to requests for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whatever the date of the breakfast taco launch, the taste and smell triggers memories. Scarsdale-Gonzalez still remembers her usual order. \u201cBean and cheese and potato and egg,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Johnny Villarreal visited with a friend after graduating from Jefferson with Scarsdale Gonzalez. \u201cI remember going in 1978,\u201d he said. \u201cI distinctly remember having the potato and egg and bacon and egg. They were very flavorful and warm. We sat inside and had our coffee. We went to the counter to get the donuts. It was packed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The breakfast taco may have determined the winner of a turf war in 78201. Dunkin\u2019 Donuts operated one of 10 local stores at 2903 Fredericksburg Road, across from the Tip Top Cafe.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In 1980, Dunkin offered a dozen donuts for $1.69, according to a San Antonio Express-News ad. Just up the road, the Original Donut Shop advertised a dozen for a comparable price.<\/p>\n \u201cLike less than two bucks,\u201d Scarsdale Gonzalez said. \u201cDunkin\u2019s prices were always a bit higher. I just always ate the good donuts (at Original).\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The donut competition drew some customers to both places. To compare taste and vibe. John Whisler was one of them. He visited in 1979.<\/p>\n \u201cI liked Dunkin Donuts, especially their coffee,\u201d he said. \u201cBut The Original Donut Shop was about more than tacos or donuts. It was like choosing Puro SA over a store-bought package brand.\u201d<\/p>\n Business at the donut shop soared after tacos were introduced. The toasted bean and cheese with bacon became the No. 1 seller. Dunkin\u2019, meanwhile, took a fatal hit. By 1982, the store on Fredericksburg Road had closed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI had relatives that worked at Dunkin but I didn\u2019t get my donuts from there,\u201d Talamantez said. \u201cDunkin\u2019s were too sweet.There\u2019s something different about the donuts at the Original Donut Shop. They have a different taste. It seems like you can\u2019t get them any other place.\u201d<\/p>\n The Original is an original. Sixty two years in business. Long lines inside and outside. Crazy hours. The baker arrives at 2:30 a.m., the cooks at 4 a.m. The shop opens at 6 a.m. Monday through Friday and at 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The last tacos are served at 2 p.m., seven days a week. The bakery remains open until 6 p.m. or until the last donuts are sold.<\/p>\n The Original draws regulars and newbies. It hosts parties and class reunions. It brings together friends who haven\u2019t seen each other in years. Monday morning, a retired sports writer from the San Antonio Express-News recognized a former colleague now at the San Antonio Report.<\/p>\n The former journalist tapped the culinary writer on the shoulder. \u201cWhat are you doing here,\u201d he asked?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDoing an interview,\u201d came the reply.<\/p>\n The old friends embraced and chatted for a bit. Seated nearby was Taylor, the bookkeeper, surrounded by customers and conversation and so much history.\u00a0<\/p>\n People have been putting morning eggs and chorizo on tortillas forever. At the Original, the breakfast taco has been a staple for 50 years, mas or menos, before Taylor was born.<\/p>\n She has her own memories: Sitting on the outside patio after church. Eating a bean and cheese with one hand. Savoring a glazed donut with the other. Enjoying time with her grandparents and siblings.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very ironic to me,\u201d she said, pointing to the area where she sat as a child. \u201cI never thought I would be working here. Now I bring my kids here and the first thing they ask is, \u2018Mom, can I get a bean and cheese?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Inside a hybrid institution at the corner of Fredericksburg Road and Babcock, a voice calls out a number. A patron rises from a table. He shuffles through a thick line of customers to pick up his order, the aroma of searing meats filling the restaurant.<\/p>\n The Original Donut Shop isn\u2019t the oldest breakfast taco joint in town. But it might be the busiest at the crack of dawn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Original Donut Shop pulses with history and buzzes with energy. It can be \u201cGroovin\u2019\u201d with a vibe…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":971042,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5133],"tags":[389800,5229,209787,239869,121370,389801,389802,7202,7203,358,389803,7453,3187,7815,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,7594],"class_list":["post-971041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-389800","tag-america","tag-breakfast-tacos","tag-dunkin-donuts","tag-fredericksburg-road","tag-jefferson-high-school","tag-newspapers-com","tag-san-antonio","tag-sanantonio","tag-texas","tag-the-original-donut-shop","tag-top-story","tag-tx","tag-typedaily","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-wc-1000-1500"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117014080778004350","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=971041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/971042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=971041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=971041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=971041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785493039_910_TheOriganalDonutShop_TacosTexMex_DriveThruOrdering_ToGoOrders_FredericksburgRoad_SmallLocalBusiness_.jpeg\")
Angel Martinez helps take orders and package donuts and breakfast tacos for customers who come through the drive-thru or order inside at the walk-up donut counter. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785493041_176_TheOriganalDonutShop_TacosTexMex_DriveThruOrdering_ToGoOrders_FredericksburgRoad_SmallLocalBusiness_.jpeg\")
A worker adjusts the marquee sign at the Original Donut Shop with the day\u2019s specials on Tuesday morning. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785493042_452_TheOriganalDonutShop_TacosTexMex_DriveThruOrdering_ToGoOrders_FredericksburgRoad_SmallLocalBusiness_.jpeg\")
Angela Delgado begins taking to-go orders road-side as cars clog up a lane while trying to get to the drive-thru window at the Original Donut Shop along Fredericksburg Road on Tuesday. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785493044_946_TheOriganalDonutShop_TacosTexMex_DriveThruOrdering_ToGoOrders_FredericksburgRoad_SmallLocalBusiness_.jpeg\")
A framed newspaper story about the Original Donut Shop published by La Prensa de San Antonio in 2005 hangs on a beam in the dining and seating area of the Original Donut Shop on July 29, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n