This Bakery Is Hiding in a Wisconsin Strip Mall

On the east side of Madison, just a stone's throw from East Towne Mall, there lives a bakery. Along a busy section of High Crossing Boulevard, in a strip mall next to a Steinhafels furniture store, this Madisonian gem resides: Greenbush Bakery. Although it's grown to include this second spot, they're still the same old Greenbush. When I first encountered Greenbush Bakery, it still only had its single, original location. Tucked up next to a Rocky Rococo's pizza joint, a truly sinful combination, the bakery was something I had admittedly never noticed. But the moment I bit into my first Greenbush donut, I was smitten. It immediately became my favorite donut place, and I have yet to find one better.

Their freshly made, kosher-certified donuts are a decadent delight. Each bite is bursting with flavor, no matter what variety you choose. This family-owned bakery is dedicated not just to satisfying sweet tooths, but to doing right by their customers. Every donut is so carefully curated that I always struggle to choose just one when I visit—even though I almost always inevitably snag a Boston cream, cake, or old-fashioned. It's a problem easily solved by an assortment box, which has yet to disappoint me.

Greenbush isn't alone in its donut devotion in the Dairy State. There is an entire Wisconsin Donut Trail to explore if you really want to indulge. Yet, it is their down-to-earth nature that continually makes them a bakery worth remembering. Both the strip mall location (5225 High Crossing Boulevard) and their spot below The Regent Apartments (1402 Regent Street) are easy to miss if you aren't paying attention. Though once you've been there, you're sure never to forget.

Not that Madison is short of iconic places, it is a fun Wisconsin city after all. While I'm hardly an expert on the city, when I lived in Madison, I spent much of my time exploring it. I got to know many places, both beloved and unknown. Yet whenever I would talk to people about some of their favorite sweet spots, Greenbush was often mentioned. It's incredible to me that a place that only dates back to 1996 could have such a foothold on a community. I'm so glad to see this bakery thriving with its two locations without losing the quality I've grown to know.

Ever since I moved away from Madison, I have been on the hunt for donuts that hit the spot in the same way. The perfect spongy consistency of a Greenbush cake donut or the soft, melt-in-your-mouth sour cream donut may forever elude me. Greenbush was my go-to bad day treat, a birthday indulgence, and one of my favorite places. On my last visit to the city to mentor college theater journalists, I even dropped in to grab a big box to celebrate their last day. I told them, "These are the best donuts I've ever had. I hope you love them."

No one disagreed.