The Donut King of Roseland: Why Old Fashioned Donuts Is Worth the Drive

There are businesses, and then there are institutions. Old Fashioned Donuts, sitting right at 112th and Michigan Avenue in the heart of Roseland, is the second kind — and has been since the day Burritt Bulloch opened its doors on November 4, 1972.

More than fifty years later, Mr. B — as the community has always called him — is still there. Still showing up at 6 a.m. Still cutting dough by hand. Still frying donuts the old-fashioned way, which, as it turns out, is still the best way.

The Man Behind the Donuts

Burritt Bulloch moved from Mississippi to Chicago in 1963, when he was 23 years old. He learned the craft working for others before deciding to bet on himself, and that bet has been paying off every single day since. Affectionately known as Mr. B, he starts at 6 a.m., working 12-hour days, six days a week. At an age when most people have long since retired, this man is still in his shop before the sun is fully up, doing what he loves.

Ask him why and he'll tell you straight: "At this stage of my life, I can't just stop. What am I going to do? I can't sit at home." And honestly? We're glad he feels that way.

In recent years, the business has become a family affair, with Bulloch's brother, daughters, and granddaughter joining in. His daughter Michele has worked at the shop since she was 14 years old. His granddaughter Leda, 23, recently posted a TikTok video of her grandfather doing what he does best — and it went viral with more than 1.5 million views, bringing a whole new wave of customers through the door from all over the city and beyond.

The Donuts

Let's talk about what people are actually coming for, because the donuts at Old Fashioned are not your grocery store variety. These are hand-cut, made-from-scratch, fried-fresh donuts — the kind that are increasingly hard to find in a world of conveyor belts and frozen dough.

Bulloch makes his own glaze from his own recipe. The glazed donut, at just $1.23 plus tax, is the most popular item on the menu, and people who've had one will tell you it tastes like it should cost three times that. The shop offers giant bow-tie donuts, Texas donuts, cinnamon rolls, giant croissants, bismarks, devil's food cake, buttermilk donuts, French donuts, glazed chocolate, toasted coconut, and glazed strawberry — and that's before you even get to the star of the show.

The apple fritter. People come from across the city specifically for the apple fritter — a generous, golden, deep-fried masterpiece filled with apples and cinnamon and finished with Mr. B's signature glaze. By most accounts, Old Fashioned makes the best hand-made, from-scratch apple fritters in the city. One TikTok commenter summed it up perfectly: "Your grandpa set the standard of donuts too high. No donuts compare to Old Fashioned."

A few things worth knowing before you go: the blueberry donuts are only available on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays — so plan accordingly. And the shop sells around 300 dozen donuts a day, which means if you're going on a busy day, get there early. They sell out. That's not a figure of speech.

Staying Power

Roseland has seen a lot of change over the past five decades. Businesses have come and gone. The corridor that was once lined with thriving mom-and-pop shops has thinned out considerably. Through inflation, the collapse of the steel industry, COVID-19, and civil unrest, Old Fashioned Donuts has stayed put. As long as the streets aren't closed, Mr. B says he's going to keep selling donuts.

And the people keep coming. "A lot of people from up north come here. All over," Bulloch says. Customers who grew up in Roseland and moved to the suburbs still make the trip back. People who have never set foot in the neighborhood before find their way there after seeing that TikTok video or hearing a friend talk about the apple fritters. As one longtime customer put it, "It's a home feeling. It's a place you're used to going to. The food is always good, the people are always smiling."

A Legacy Getting Its Due

In 2024, Old Fashioned Donuts received some well-deserved recognition. The shop was named one of 50 small businesses across the country to receive a $50,000 grant through the national Backing Historic Small Restaurants program, run by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express — and it was the only Chicago recipient that year. The grant is funding long-overdue renovations to the building, which hasn't been updated in decades. Additional funding came from the Chicago Community Trust and the Chicago Department of Planning and Development's Neighborhood Opportunity Fund.

Andrea Reed, executive director of the Greater Roseland Chamber of Commerce, called investing in businesses like Old Fashioned Donuts critical to restoring Roseland — once known as "the jewel of the South Side" — to its former glory. She's right. And this shop is proof that the foundation is still there.

Go Support Mr. B

Old Fashioned Donuts is a Black-owned, family-run South Side institution, and it deserves every bit of support this community can give it. Whether you grew up going there, you've never been, or you haven't made the trip in a while — now is a great time to go.

Find them at 11248 S. Michigan Avenue in Roseland, open Monday through Saturday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Sundays. Call ahead if you want to make sure your order is ready: 773-995-7420.

Get the glazed. Get the apple fritter. And while you're at it, get a dozen for the office, because you'll want to share — and also because once people taste them, they'll never let you live it down if you don't bring enough.