The best glazed doughnut around is at a 29-year-old shop in Pineville

In an ordinary strip mall near Pineville’s main street lies a hidden gem of a doughnut shop.

It’s called MJ Donuts, and it’s been right there in the Pineville Towne Market shopping center for 29 years.

Which means it’s seen the Charlotte Hornets become the Bobcats, move away, return and go back to being the Hornets. It’s also seen the explosion of Charlotte’s banking, insurance, logistics and real estate industries. It has also survived the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I remember getting MJ Donuts as a little girl, and then as a teenager and now as an adult.

I try to stop by monthly or more often if I want to bring sweet treats for family gatherings or when I have guests in town.

These doughnuts also always make an appearance at holiday breakfasts and on Christmas morning.

My go-to? The shop’s simple glazed doughnut. I mean, if I’m going to waste calories on a glazed doughnut, then it’s going to be from MJ.

I believe it’s one of if not the best glazed doughnut in town — if you’re a simple glazed doughnut person like me.

For context, MJ’s glazed doughnuts are doughier, breadier and denser yeast doughnuts, and they’re about 25% bigger than a Krispy Kreme original glazed or Dunkin Donut glazed doughnut.

MJ’s glazed doughnuts have a light coating, like an effervescent layer of sticky sweetness that doesn’t overpower or overwhelm your palate.

And despite their larger size, they’re still light, airy, soft and fluffy.

While Krispy Kreme’s original glazed is undeniably tasty when the red light is on, I sometimes find their glaze on the heavy side and too sweet for me.

And Dunkin’s glazed doughnut is just fine, though nothing spectacular.

Mochinut in Alley 51 is the closest doughnut shop nearby, but I only go there if I want something more fun and fancy. That chain offers doughnuts with signature “mochi” styled dough balls encircled in a doughnut shape, and rotates crazier, fun flavors and toppings like ube (the purple sweet potato), Dubai chocolate, matcha and mango, along with Korean-style corn dogs and bubble teas.

But again, sometimes, all you want is a perfectly simple glazed doughnut.

Of course, MJ’s offers many other favorite varieties, too, like cake, powdered, cinnamon, chocolate and assorted cream flavors. Even multi-colored sprinkled doughnuts of all colors including a Panther-themed blue, black and white.

There are also glazed twists and crullers, but its most popular menu item, according to owner Songcha Lee, is the apple fritter, which is the size of your hand — if your hand was a bear paw.

Here, the doughnuts start at $1.50, and are priced individually. A dozen will generally run you from $18 and up, depending on your flavor combinations.

Lee tells me her cinnamon rolls are the second bestseller.

As for her customers, many are locals and regulars who span multiple generations.

She’s seen plenty of kids become adults who then have kids of their own, and all are fans of her doughnut shop.

Lee originally came from Dallas, Texas, where her brother owned a doughnut shop, but then moved to the Charlotte area in 1996 to be with her sister, who has passed on.

Since then, she’s never left.

Her shop is as much of an anchor for the strip mall as the Food Lion, and for greater Pineville, itself, which over the past three years has seen its Main Street bustle with new businesses.

No matter, you can count on MJ Donuts baked fresh Tuesdays through Saturday from 6 a.m. to noon, and Sundays from 7 a.m. to noon. (It’s closed Mondays.)

Be quick, though, because it does often sell out of its most popular items early on and of most doughnuts by noon.

MJ Donuts

Location: 325 S Polk St, Pineville, NC 28134

Cuisine: Doughnuts

Uniquely Charlotte: Uniquely Charlotte is an Observer subscriber collection of moments, landmarks and personalities that define the uniqueness (and pride) of why we live in the Charlotte area.

This story was originally published September 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM.