Gibson's Donuts
Gibson's, also known as Gibson's Donuts, is a doughnut and coffee shop in Memphis, Tennessee. It was named after Lowell Gibson in 1967[1] and it is the only one in America as it is not a chain. Gibson's represents the most popular doughnut shop with only one location in America due to its weekly revenue.[1] Food Network celebrities', like Alton Brown, have featured this doughnut shop through the show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate".[1] Some of the shop's products include donuts, cinnamon rolls, eclairs, and coffee.[2]
History[edit]
Gibson's originally got its name from Lowell Gibson in 1967 when he bought the shop from a previous owner.[3] In 1996, 29 years later, Don DeWeese became the owner when medical problems caused Gibson to sell the shop. He was very set on making sure Gibson's went to a dedicated patron as it remains a 24/7 family business with a loyal clientele.[4] Don DeWeese previously owned a sport store but bought Gibson's as an investment for his oldest son, Blair.[5] Two years later Blair went and joined the Peace Corps so Rita, Deweese's wife, took over the shop until 2008 when their younger son moved home to help out with this investment that turned into a family business.[5] Britton still currently manages and runs the donut shop and cannot put a pinpoint on when it became so popular, it just continued growing over time in the last decade. He claims that the 2008 economy tanked and his business picked up due to donuts being a less expensive alternative. Deweese thinks it was a combination of social media and getting busy while the economy was down that allowed for their growth.[5] Some employees of the shop have been there since 1967 and continue to use the same machines for glazing and baking since it first opened back in 1967.[5] Since DeWeese took over the shop, it remains open every day of the year except Christmas Day and is open 24 hours a day.[4]
Menu[edit]
Gibson's features a multitude of different menu items including donuts, cinnamon rolls, eclairs, cakes, apple fritters, and coffee.[6] Some of their most popular items include the red velvet cake donut, the blueberry donut, and the signature glazed donuts.[2] Gibson's offers two types of donuts: cake and yeast. The difference between the two is that a cake donut is made using leavened dough using baking powder and fried in oil.[7] Yeast donuts are cut before being fried and are lighter and chewier than the cake donuts.[7] Gibson's originally only had donuts on the menu and then decided to branch out as business grew more and more. Britton DeWeese was able to express his creativity by inventing a signature donut of the month where he invents a new flavor each month and offers it to customers to try. Some of their most popular donuts like the Oreo donut and the bacon maple donut were originally donut of the month flavors, but after customers loved them so much, DeWeese decided to make it part of the menu permanently.[4]
Locations[edit]
Gibson's donuts only has one location that was opened during 1967 in Memphis Tennessee on 750 Mount Moriah St.[4]
Reception[edit]
DeWeese credits Gibson's popularity to recognition in cooking shows like Eddie Huang's "Cheap Bites" on the Cooking Channel in 2012.[5] In 2015 Gibson's appeared on Andrew Zimmern's "Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations" which also allowed for more popularity as the donut shop does not spend any money on advertising or marketing.[5] The DeWeese family only depends on social media and word-of-mouth for marketing about their infamous donuts. It has paid off considering Gibson's has more than 11,000 followers on Instagram and more than 25,000 followers on Facebook.[8] Gibson's had national recognition throughout the years like praises from Alton Brown on the Food Network in 2016.[1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Chandler, Jennifer. "'The Donut Man': Get an insider's look at the life of Gibson's owner in new book". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Gibson's Donuts | memphistravel.com". www.memphistravel.com. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
- ↑ Blank, Christopher. "A Day to Celebrate the Doughnut". www.wknofm.org. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Gibson's Donuts are a Memphis tradition". WREG.com. 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Glazed with Tradition, Gibson's Donuts Keeps Customers Coming Back". Memphis Daily News. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
- ↑ "Prepare your taste buds..." www.grubhub.com. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Which Is The Superior Donut: Cake Donuts Or Yeast Donuts?". HuffPost. 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
- ↑ "Gibson's Donuts". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
Coordinates: 35°6′36.8″N 89°53′41.5″W / 35.110222°N 89.894861°W
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