Midwesterners Prefer This Gas Station Donut Over Krispy Kreme

Look out, Krispy Kreme, you have some stiff competition. There may not be an iconic neon sign announcing fresh donuts involved, but Midwesterners know that when they need to grab gas or make a pit stop at Kwik Trip, a pack of irresistible Glazers will almost always be waiting for them inside. These little rings of joy are some of the most popular baked goods to come out of the Midwest, and gas station donut locals prefer over Krispy Kreme.

Glazers are puffy, pillowy donuts made specifically by Kwik Trip and sold out of Kwik Trip convenience stores across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, South Dakota, and North Dakota. Included in our ranking of U.S. convenience stores with the best food, Kwik Trip's donuts come from a central bakery located in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The bakery makes about 2,400 pounds of dough per hour to single-handedly supply the donuts for more than 850 Kwik Trip stores.

The Glazers begin as fresh dough, which is then flattened on a conveyor belt and punched into the classically round shape, proofed until perfectly fluffy, and then whisked away for a golden fryer bath. While they're still warm, the Glazers are moved under a waterfall of sweet glaze and hand packaged into boxes of six to ensure high quality with every batch.

Kwik Trip was established in 1965, but Glazers weren't introduced until 2003. The tiny temptations spent an entire year in the research phase before they made it into consumers' hands. Now, customers can't get enough of them. Kwik Trip sold about 45 million donuts in 2023 and increased those sales by 2 million donuts for a total of 47 million in 2024. The thought process was to quite literally make a donut that would rival Krispy Kreme and, based on the attention the Glazers have received on social media, it would appear that this goal was achieved.

While popularly paired with a steaming cup of Kwik Trip coffee — which also made our taste tester's ranking of 18 gas station coffee bars – Kwik Trip partnered with Karben4 Brewery for a limited-release, 5% ABV beer named the Glazer Bean, made in the form of a Chocolate Glazer Coffee Stout. However, just as many people enjoy the Glazers all on their own. Today, Kwik Trip is only continuing to expand – bringing even more of its famous Glazers to even more of its fans across the Midwest.