Mr Ronnie's Donuts — Restaurant in Louisiana

I woke early @0500 and took advantage of the opportunity for some father and son (10yrs old) time and get some doughnuts. Mr. Ronnie's is a real throw back to a 50s style dinner in looks, atmosphere and spirit. The first thing I noticed was that the employees were happy. Genuinely happy; they were telling each other good morning, treating each other with politeness and kindness. How great is that?! My service was just an extension of how they were treating each other. My son and I were going to bring our treats home to eat, but my son wanted to stay. He likes the bar stool and counter set-up and the opportunity to chat it up with the ladies behind the counter. Then Mr Bud came out from the back with a huge stack of King Cakes (Yum). He introduced himself and took the time to shake my Son's hand (this made my son feel a bit older and more important, thank you!). We struck up a conversation about local stuff, all the while the place buzzed with the preparation for the impending morning rush. I was already going to have a good morning with my boy, but my son's decision to stay and eat there made it great. Selection and quality is great. Service is outstanding, because they are happy, maybe it's from all the sugar in the place. The Diner is clean, clean counter tops and clean bathrooms. Price point is good value. I would have liked a cup of decaf (they don't serve it), but I understand many people don't drink it (my wife thinks decaf coffee is a sin). Overall I love this diner for what it IS: a legacy small business in Houma that has not sacrificed what had made it successfull: delicious doughnuts and selective hiring that fosters outstanding friendly service. The food is fast, but it is NOT...

I love, love, love Mr Ronnie doughnuts. They are the best in the state hands down. But, you could have the best in the country and give them away and that still wouldn't make up for horrible service. When I came thru the drive thru two weeks ago, in the early afternoon, the girl at the window did the following; first, she never smiled, then she only glanced at us, then we had to go thru 50 questions: I asked for 2 chocolate glazed, without looking at us, she said, "we out of dose " how about 2 twinkee filled, again, same thing, "we out of dose too", so after about 3 or 4 more she's told us to "read the menu, it right there" now she has pissed off my wife. Her response was, "we did look at the menu, and we know how to read". No reaction, so we ended up with a 2 buttermilk and Bavarian cream eclare. This person had a rotten attitude. The only reason I didn't tell management is because he was standing right behind her. This type of attitude is becoming more prevalent in the Houma area. I say., "if you want 15.00 an hour, you better act like you like your job and the people you are paid to serve". Might go back someday...

My fiance is from Houma, LA and whenever a donut was mentioned all he would ever talk about was this Mr. Ronnie's place and how they have "the perfect donuts". Well I never believed him. Then last year he brought me to Louisiana for the first time (I'm from Michigan and we both live here now) and of course, we had to stop and get a donut from Mr. Ronnie's. I was prepared to eat a regular, non-special donut and then humor him by agreeing that yes, this is definitely the best donut in the world, whatever. Boy did I feel like an idiot after I took that first bite. I didn't even have to lie, that donut was absolutely perfect. I haven't doubted his donut critiques ever since. We were just back in Houma the other week and my biggest regret is that I ate too much food so when we had the opportunity to go to Mr. Ronnie's, I was too full to eat a whole donut. Don't make that mistake. Now I have to wait until next year to get...