A South Jersey donut shop has been named a Top 10 donut destination in the country. Happy Place Homemade in Medford is known for its scratch-made donuts, premium soft serve (combine them for a mega sweet treat) and specialty coffee.
Happy Place ranked 2nd on USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for 2026, a list of 10 mom-and-pop shops. An expert panel from USA Today narrowed down the list, and then readers voted for their faves.
Happy Place Founder Tyler Gerber created the “new nostalgia” concept – cute diner-style booths inside a 1,500-square-foot space, which also has a drive-thru – when he opened Happy Place in January.
Every donut is freshly made by a custom Belshaw Insider Donut Robot, which visitors can see working all day, every day. Try an original glazed or chocolate donut, or the Inside-Out Boston Crème, wildberry cheesecake, s’mores or banana crumb. Current experimental flavors from the ever-evolving Test Kitchen include dot cake donuts, brown butter peach crumb, maple bacon and lemon sugar blueberry.
The premium soft serve is made in-house using local milk and real fruit purées. There are six machines that store classic vanilla and chocolate; plus weekly rotating flavors like cinnamon donut, banana cream and spicy hot chocolate. Non-dairy options include vanilla, pineapple whip and wildberry sorbet.
Happy Place is also known for signature creations like Happy Stacks (soft serve layered with a donut), Donut Dandies (donut-soft serve sandwiches), and Perfects (Happy Place’s take on a soft serve parfait).
Happy Place also partners with Philadelphia’s La Colombe for specialty coffee with exclusive in-house flavor additions. Other drink options include iced tea or lemonade-based refreshers, and float-style drinks.
“Growing up in Medford, I always wished a place like this existed here. For Happy Place to be recognized nationally by USA Today as one of the best donut shops in the entire country shows people crave what we’re creating – a place where creativity, quality, and intentionality drive everything we do,” Gerber said. “It is surreal and I am incredibly grateful to my team, my family, my supporters, and Medford for embracing what we’re building from day one and for those who have made Happy Place their place.This is just the beginning of what we’re building.”
Happy Place Homemade is located at 690 Stokes Rd. in Medford. The shop and drive-thru are open every day from 7 am to 10 pm.
These are the 10 Best Donut Shops in the U.S. (2026), according to USA Today readers:
- Donald’s Donuts, Zanesville, Ohio
- Happy Place Homemade, Medford, New Jersey
- The Bakery Unlimited, Winterset, Iowa
- Back Door Donuts, Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
- Darling Doughnuts, Saratoga Springs, New York
- City Donut, Orange Beach, Alabama
- SK Donuts & Croissant, Los Angeles, California
- Fox’s Donut Den, Nashville, Tennessee
- Blue Star Donuts, Portland, Oregon
- Beiler’s Doughnuts, Maryland and Pennsylvania
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Read More:
Put These New Jersey Donut Shops on Your Foodie Bucket List
These Are The Sweetest Chocolate & Candy Shops in NJ
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