Glazy Day: Round Rock rolls into the Donuts

Round Rock Donuts taste different than regular ol’ donuts.

Just ask the hundreds of Express fans who lined up outside of Dell Diamond in 110-degree heat to get their hands not on the delicious treat, but a jersey with donuts all over it.

On July 21, the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate celebrated the famed Central Texas bakery by playing as the Round Rock Donuts for the very first time. That moniker not so coincidentally happens to be the exact name of the shop just 3.5 miles away from where the Express call home.

“They’re pretty much an institution in Round Rock,” said Express public relations and communications manager Rylan Kobre.

Round Rock Donuts opened as the Lone Star Bakery in 1926, and despite some tumultuous years, managed to stay in business by experimenting and creating a new recipe in the early 1940s that soon became a national staple.

#DellDiamond is transforming into a donut lover's paradise for two nights only! 🍩 pic.twitter.com/5L3rhbsOZM

— Round Rock Express (@RRExpress) July 21, 2023

In fact, the popularity of the shop has endured so much that they recently opened a second location in Cedar Park, which is a 17-minute drive from the original location.

“They’ve become nationally known, and if you come into the Austin area, people will come up to Round Rock just to go to Round Rock Donuts,” Kobre said. “It’s become such a big deal.”

That's evidenced by the fact that loyal Express fans tailgated in the parking lot for their chance to snag a replica jersey. For their patience in the sweltering heat, they were rewarded with the famous baked goods, courtesy of the ballclub.

“I think we bought close to 1,000 donuts that we handed out in the parking lot before the game,” Kobre said. “Whenever we do nights like this, they’re my favorite nights because the community gets behind it. Everybody feels like they’re a part of it.”

The Express paid homage to the bakery’s logo -- a yellow donut with a red outlined star in the middle and longhorn horns sticking out the top -- but with a special twist. The redesigned iconography featured an anthropomorphized donut with a big cowboy hat, boots and chaps while spinning a lasso with a bright smile, all while sticking to the yellow, red and blue color scheme of the original logo.

Wallpaper Wednesday: Round Rock Donuts Edition 🍩 pic.twitter.com/P9aII5U9Kh

— Round Rock Express (@RRExpress) July 19, 2023

But we can’t forget about the rest of the uniform, which had plenty of love and care put into it too. The pale yellow jersey had a repeating donut pattern on it, including the Round Rock Donuts logo, with red and blue lettering accompanied by a blue cap.

Kobre can’t guarantee that Round Rock will play as the Donuts again in the future, but he knows one thing: The Express and Round Rock Donuts go hand-in-hand.

“When people think of Round Rock, I really do think the first two things they think of are the Round Rock Express and Round Rock Donuts,” Kobre said. “When it’s that hot out and you got that many people so excited about something, I think it makes a lot of sense going forward.”