A popular Jacksonville neighborhood donut shop best known for its homemade glazed cinnamon twists, apple fritters, and Bismarcks, as well as made-to-order breakfast and lunch fare, has closed.
Cheer Donuts Deli & Grill shut its doors Sept. 5 at 5065 St. Augustine Road, Suite 5, after about 2 1/2 years serving gourmet donuts fresh daily using the owner’s “handcrafted recipes.”
The cafe focused on gourmet yeast-raised donuts. Featured were the classics such as vanilla, chocolate, and marble glazed donuts, as well as the cinnamon glazed and cinnamon sugar twists, apple fritters, maple bars and turnovers. Other customer favorites were the Bismarcks and Pershings with their rich fillings; cinnamon rolls and specialty donuts.
Any unsold donuts at the end of the day were donated to the Clara White Mission, 613 W Ashley St. in downtown Jacksonville, according to the restaurant’s website.
Cheer Donuts also offered made-to-order breakfast plates and sandwiches and lunch offerings, including the General Patton, an Italian sub; a Chicken Cordon Bleu; and a London Broil French Dip, and more, the menu showed.
Shirley Falcon, a retired registered nurse from Louisiana, founded and owns Cheer Donuts. The restaurant received its state food service license in February 2023, Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation online records show.
Falcon couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.
Heartfelt farewell message to guests and community
A heartfelt sign taped to the restaurant’s front door announced its closure, saying: “For reasons beyond our control we are closing our business Friday 9/5.”
“I will never forget the wonderful people I met. Thank you for your patronage,” Falcon wrote on the closure sign.
Customers responded on social media with dismay about the closing.
“The best cinnamon rolls in Jacksonville. … This is really sad,” posted one customer who also voiced hope the donut shop might reopen at some point.
Cheer Donuts was tucked away in a mixed-use commercial and residential neighborhood across from Earl Johnson Park. The donut shop had taken the space formerly used by The Southern Italian, a New York-style deli that closed in November 2022 after 18 months.
Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at tstepzinski@jacksonville.com.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Donut shop known for glazed cinnamon twists, apple fritters and Bismarcks closes abruptly
Reporting by Teresa Stepzinski, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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