Bill’s Donut Shop named 1 of the 2 ‘Best in America’

Bill's Donut Shop in Centerville has made the list of "The 15 Best Donut Shops in America" as compiled by BusinessInsider.com.

In fact, the web site ranked it #2 in the nation, behind only to Dough in New York City. Business Insider collaborated with city-guide app Foursquare to rank the nation's top-rated doughnut shops across America based on the number of times users have either "liked" or "saved" the donut shops.

Local doughnut shop among top 50 in the U.S., magazine says (February 2013)

Here’s what BusinessInsider.com’s Mary Hanbury said about Bill’s, located at 268 N. Main St. (Ohio 48) in Centerville:

“Bill’s has been around since 1960, so the shop has plenty of experience when it comes to crafting the perfect pastry. They’re especially known for their pretzel and twist doughnuts. Combine those with the shop’s hometown atmosphere, and you’ve got an Ohio staple for doughnut lovers of all ages.”

This is not the first time Bill’s has scored some national acclaim. Far from it, in fact.

Top 8 Dayton-area doughnuts you must try

Bill's was also the only doughnut shop in Ohio to be included in Saveur magazine's March 2013 story entitled "The World's Best Donuts: The 50 Finest Donut Shops in America." A month later, USA Today named Bill's one of the "10 Great Places to Get Doughnuts" in the U.S.

In April 2015, Bill's Donut Shop was named one of the "33 Best Donut Shops in America" by the web site Thrillist.com. It was the only doughnut shop in Ohio to be included in the "best-in-the-U.S." list. The web site said Bill's "captures the essence of the original, especially when you bite into their incredible apple spice, sour cream, white-iced jelly, and famous pretzel donuts."

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And in June 2015, a food blog on HuffingtonPost.com identified the devil's food doughnut at Bill's as one of the "Dozen Best Donuts in America," proclaiming that it "begged to be dunked in chocolate."

One of the great water-cooler, smack-talking debate topics in the Miami Valley focuses on which is better: Bill’s or Schuler’s Bakery in Springfield. Founded in 1937, Schuler’s has been around 23 years longer than Bill’s, and it too has generated a fiercely loyal customer base.

We tried $150 worth of Schuler’s Donuts (April 2016)

In fact, in 2013, when news of the Saveur magazine shout-out to Bill’s broke, Schuler’s Bakery President Mike Peters told me in a phone interview, “I suspect that whoever nominated Bill’s didn’t know about Schuler’s, or they’d never experienced Schuler’s. If a taste test had been conducted, we would have been ranked better than Bill’s.”

Bill’s Donut Shop moved from its original downtown Dayton location to Centerville in 1967. In the 1970s, there were several Bill’s locations in the Dayton area, including Vandalia, Kettering and Huber Heights. The shop moved to its current location on Ohio 48 in 1979.

Bill's Donuts is open 24 hours a day. For more information, check out the Bill's Donut Shop Facebook page or call (937) 433-0002.

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