Holtman’s Donuts has been frying dough in Cincinnati since 1960, which means it predates the interstate highway that cut through the city, the demolition of most of Over-the-Rhine’s old saloons, and every donut chain that followed. The original location on Warsaw Avenue in Price Hill is still there, though most people today know the brand from its Over-the-Rhine storefront on Vine Street, which opened in 2010 and quietly became one of the most visited spots in a neighborhood that was becoming one of the most talked-about in the Midwest.
Tom Holtman grew up in the business. His father started it, and Tom has been working in it since he was old enough to stand at a fryer. He’s not particularly interested in talking about himself, which is maybe why he comes across as credible when he does. He’ll tell you the raised yeast donut is the hardest thing they make — the fermentation has to be right, the fry temperature has to be exact — and he’ll say it the way a carpenter talks about cutting a dovetail joint. Like it’s just the work.
What Holtman’s does is a full menu of cake and yeast donuts, fritters, long johns, and holes, plus seasonal stuff that rotates without much fanfare. The maple bacon bar gets most of the attention from people visiting for the first time, and it’s fine — sweet, salty, exactly what it sounds like. But the plain glazed yeast donut is the real test, and Holtman’s passes it without effort. The glaze is thin, the dough is airy without being insubstantial, and it doesn’t leave you feeling like you ate a sponge soaked in corn syrup.
The OTR shop is small. There’s a counter, a few seats, and usually a line on weekend mornings that moves faster than it looks. Prices are still reasonable by any standard — a single donut runs around two dollars, a dozen somewhere in the mid-twenties range depending on what you pick. It’s cash-friendly but cards work fine.
Tom is often at one of the locations early, before most people are awake, doing exactly what his father used to do. He’s talked in interviews about not wanting to expand too fast or drift too far from the original product. There’s a second OTR location now on 12th Street, and a spot in Madeira, but the operation still has the feel of something family-sized. Nobody’s trying to become a franchise empire.
The Price Hill location on Warsaw is worth visiting specifically because it feels like 1978 in the best possible way. The signage is old, the parking lot is cracked in places, and the people behind the counter have often worked there for years. Weekend mornings are busiest at both locations; if you want to avoid the crowd, a weekday around 7 or 8 a.m. is your window, and the selection will still be full.
There are trendier donut shops in Cincinnati now. A few of them make genuinely interesting things. But Holtman’s is doing something those places are still working toward: consistency across decades, a product that doesn’t need a gimmick, and an owner who seems to understand that the best thing a donut shop can do is make a good donut and show up every morning. That’s harder than it sounds.
