I have made plenty of questionable decisions before breakfast, but standing in line for a two-dollar donut is not one of them.
On a quiet main street in central Iowa, this little bakery turns out donuts, giant apple fritters, and fresh pastries that have people driving far more miles than breakfast probably deserves.
I joined the morning line, grabbed a box, and learned very quickly why some customers make serious detours to get here. Mine barely survived the drive home.
For about two dollars, that feels like a pretty sweet reason to set the alarm.
The Corner Shop Behind All The Buzz
Half a dozen strangers told me to go before I ever found the front door. A shop owner down the block mentioned it, then a woman waiting at a crosswalk did too.
That kind of word-of-mouth pride is rare, and it turned out to be earned. The building is old brick, the windows are wide, and the counter cases are packed shoulder to shoulder with cake donuts, filled donuts, fritters, scones, cannoli, cookies, and fudge.
Michael and Paula Feltner run the place, and their names show up all over the online reviews, answering people one by one like neighbors rather than a corporate account.
What surprised me most was how unfussy it all felt. No pretense, no gimmicks, just scratch-made baking done well every single morning.
If you want to see it for yourself, you will find Bricktown Bakery at 1105 6th St, Nevada, IA 50201, right in the heart of historic downtown Nevada, Iowa.
Set your alarm. The good stuff goes early.
Two Dollars, Zero Compromises
Two dollars does not buy much anymore. It buys a donut here that I would happily pay four for.
The glaze cracks slightly when you bite, the crumb stays tender, and the sweetness stops right where it should instead of running past the finish line.
Donuts get mentioned in roughly 77 of the reviews, which tells you where the loyalty lives. Cake donuts, raised donuts, and filled ones all share the case, and each style holds its own.
One detail I did not expect: they hold up overnight. I left two in a box on the counter and ate them the next morning, and they were still soft.
Most donuts turn into hockey pucks by hour twelve, so this says something about the dough and the frying.
My advice is simple. Buy more than you think you need, because the math changes fast once you taste one.
A dozen classic raised glazed donuts currently costs $19, and the people behind the counter will help you pick if you freeze up.
Value like that deserves a standing ovation, or at least a second trip.
The Apple Fritter That Steals The Show
Ask around and the apple fritter comes up again and again. Eight separate reviews single it out, and one person flatly called it the best they had ever had.
Mine was wide, craggy, and heavier than it looked, with real apple pieces tucked into the folds. The edges fried up crisp while the middle stayed soft and cinnamon-heavy.
Glaze coated every ridge, which means you will need a napkin and possibly a plan.
I split one with a friend and immediately regretted the generosity. It is genuinely a two-hand pastry, closer to breakfast than dessert, and it pairs beautifully with black coffee.
Here is my practical tip: fritters take up serious real estate in the case, and they tend to disappear before the lunch crowd arrives.
Show up in the morning if a fritter is your goal, and call ahead if you want to be sure.
They also sell out of favorites on busy Saturdays, so flexibility helps.
I have eaten fritters in a dozen states, and this one rearranged my rankings without much effort.
Why The Line Moves Faster Than You Think
The line looked intimidating. It stretched toward the door on the Saturday I visited, and I almost talked myself into leaving.
Ten minutes later I had a full box. The staff work the case with real efficiency, boxing orders while chatting and suggesting things you did not know you wanted.
That balance of speed and friendliness is harder than it sounds. Nobody rushed me, but nobody stalled either.
A visitor from Des Moines described the same thing, arriving to a long line and getting through it quickly with helpful recommendations along the way.
My tip for first-timers is to study the case while you wait. Decide on two safe picks and one wild card, then let the person behind the counter break the tie.
They know what came out of the fryer most recently, and that information is worth more than any menu.
Weekday mornings feel calmer if crowds are not your thing. Tuesday through Saturday, doors open at 7 AM, and the shop closes Sunday and Monday.
Patience pays off in glaze here, which is the best kind of interest rate.
Coffee Drinks Worth Ordering By Name
Donuts get the headlines, but the drink menu quietly holds its own. The honeybun latte comes up repeatedly in reviews, and after one sip I understood the fan club.
It tastes like the pastry it is named after, warm and sweet without turning into syrup. The signature caramel macchiato is another current option worth knowing.
Plain drip coffee is solid too, fresh and hot rather than sitting around scorching on a burner.
Pairing matters more than people admit. A heavily frosted donut goes better with unsweetened coffee, while a plain cake donut can handle a flavored latte without any trouble.
I ordered the honeybun latte with a cinnamon twist and considered the morning a complete success.
Outdoor seating sits right out front, and on a nice day it is the best seat in town for watching downtown traffic roll by.
During summer evenings there is sometimes live music out front, which turns a quick donut stop into an actual outing.
Come thirsty, not just hungry. The coffee here is not an afterthought, and treating it like one would be a mistake.
Cinnamon Twists, Oreo Cupcakes, And Other Fan Favorites
Regulars have their orders memorized, and two names worth knowing are the cinnamon twist and the Chocolate Oreo cupcake.
The twist is exactly what it sounds like, a rope of dough rolled in cinnamon sugar, crisp at the ends and chewy in the middle. It is the kind of thing you eat while standing in the parking lot.
The Chocolate Oreo cupcake goes the other direction, bringing chocolate and Oreo flavor into the pastry case.
Cinnamon rolls also earn mentions, and they are the big, pull-apart kind rather than the tiny grocery store version.
Cannoli show up in the case too, which I did not expect from a small-town Iowa bakery, along with pies, fudge, and sugar cookies decorated with real personality.
My honest suggestion is to build a variety box instead of six of the same thing. That way your table gets a tasting flight and nobody argues.
Cake pops are on hand for little kids, and the decorated sugar cookies win over toddlers and adults alike.
Half my box vanished before I reached the highway, which felt less like weakness and more like inevitability.
Gluten-Free Treats That Actually Taste Good
Gluten-free baked goods have a reputation problem, usually deserved. Not here.
Staff will walk you through the options without making it feel like a special request, which matters more than people realize. Gluten-free chocolate cupcakes, lemon bars, and monster cookies all rotate through the case.
The lemon bar in particular gets specific praise, and the monster cookie holds together instead of crumbling into sand.
Because availability shifts day to day, calling ahead is the smart play if someone in your group needs gluten-free choices. A quick phone call saves disappointment at the counter.
I appreciated that these items sit in the same display as everything else rather than being hidden in a corner like an apology.
Families with mixed dietary needs can actually all order something here, which is genuinely useful on a road trip.
The team seems used to the question and answers it cheerfully, showing off what they have rather than shrugging.
Anyone who has been handed a dry, chalky gluten-free brownie somewhere else will understand why this section of the case deserves its own paragraph.
Inclusion tastes better when it is baked with the same care as everything else.
Gourmet Popcorn Hiding In Plain Sight
Popcorn in a donut shop sounds like a plot twist, and yet it works. Flavored gourmet popcorn sits right in the main bakery space now, alongside the pastry cases.
Cheesy Cheddar is the runaway favorite, sharp and salty and completely at odds with everything sweet around it. That contrast is exactly why people grab a bag.
A larger selection lives at their store next door if you want to go deeper into flavor territory.
My practical take is that popcorn solves the car problem. Donuts do not travel well past a certain point, but a bag of popcorn survives an entire drive across the state.
Grab one for the road and one to bring home, because the second bag never makes it either.
It also makes a decent gift when you show up somewhere empty-handed, which happens more often than I like to admit.
Sweet and salty in the same shopping bag is a combination I fully endorse. The cheddar dust on your fingers is simply proof of a good decision.
Do not skip this shelf just because you came for fried dough.
Custom Cakes Built For Big Moments
A cake made for a local theater cast party got compared to something from a baking show, and the decorators here clearly hear that a lot.
Moist layers, buttercream balanced against the cake instead of drowning it, and piping work that looks intentional rather than rushed. That combination is harder to pull off than a pretty photo suggests.
People have called on short notice for birthdays and special occasions and been squeezed in with a smile.
Still, planning ahead is the respectful move. Bricktown currently recommends reaching out at least two to three weeks ahead for birthday or celebration cakes, and three to six months ahead for weddings.
Call 641-336-6887 or check the website to talk through flavors, sizes, and design ideas before you commit.
What impressed me most was the pride in the details. Whoever handles the decorating clearly treats each cake like a personal project.
For families in the Nevada area, having a bakery like this nearby means graduations, anniversaries, and school celebrations get something better than a grocery store sheet cake.
Order early, describe your vision clearly, and let the decorators surprise you a little.
Planning Your Visit Without Missing Out
Timing is everything with donuts, so here are the details worth writing down. Doors open at 7 AM Tuesday through Saturday and close at 6 PM.
Sunday and Monday the shop is closed, which trips up plenty of weekend travelers. Plan around it.
Mornings bring the widest selection, and fritters and popular donuts thin out as the day goes on. If you arrive at 5 PM, expect a smaller lineup.
Parking downtown is easy, and outdoor seating out front means you do not have to eat in your car.
The location sits just off historic Highway 30, making it a quick detour for anyone driving between Des Moines and points north or west. People regularly build road trips around this stop.
I would budget 20 minutes minimum, longer on a busy Saturday when the line stretches back.
Bring a little extra cash for popcorn and coffee, and consider a box rather than a single donut, since sharing intentions rarely survive the first bite.
Show up early, order generously, and you will leave grinning like everyone else walking out that door.
Small-Town Service That Keeps People Coming Back
Warm greetings hit you before the pastries do. Someone says hello the moment the door opens, and it does not sound rehearsed.
A server named Tina gets called out by name in reviews for patience and genuine thanks, and that kind of individual recognition says plenty about the staff culture.
Seven reviews specifically mention the small-town bakery feel, which is the whole point of driving here in the first place.
Owners Michael and Paula respond to nearly every review personally, thanking people for 45-minute drives and 200-mile detours alike.
Customers describe the smell as the reason they walked in and the service as the reason they returned. A delivery driver stopped by for work, got handed a donut and a pie, and immediately planned a real visit.
That is the pattern here. One accidental stop turns into a habit.
Community ties run deep too, from cast party cakes to families making it their weekly breakfast routine.
All told, this little brick corner of Iowa delivers a two-dollar donut worth standing in line for, plus the sort of welcome that makes you want to wave on your way out.