Minnesota Minis

By Naperville Magazine
Appears in the June 2025 issue.

By Peter Gianopulos

These fresh, bite-size donuts bring the nostalgia

We are experiencing a donut Renaissance, a golden age of fried, sugary excess. Donuts, donuts, and more specialty donuts everywhere you turn. Donuts glazed with exotic drizzles, stuffed with imported jams, and sugar-torched like the crispy, crackly surface of a steak-house crème brulée. We have potato donuts. Mochi donuts. Brioche donuts. Croissant-donuts mashups.

And now at Sugar Mama’s Mini Donuts, a cozy family-owned shop at 27W460 Chicago Ave. in Winfield, a new contender to add to our growing list of all-stars: the Minnesota Fair Donut.

Owner Robin Vega, a native of the Land of 10,000 Lakes, says there are inviolable rules that any self-respecting Minnesotan must follow when preparing a real-deal state fair donut: They should be bite-sized, roughly the size of a 50-cent piece. They should be cake-based with a crisp exterior and marshmallow-soft hull. And true Minnesota fair donuts must—and she does stress must—be fried to order, so that they release a warm sugary plume of Midwestern yearning with every bite.

To ensure maximum authenticity, Vega imported a Lil’ Orbits donut maker from Minnesota. She doesn’t believe in skimping, offering half-dozen, dozen, and four-dozen sized bags. She serves up different flavors, while also encouraging customers to customize the sweet treats as they see fit. Pick your pleasure: cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, or request one of her secret menu offerings. Hint: Have your little ones whisper the phrase “Happy Unicorn” (powdered sugar donuts showered with rainbow sprinkles) or Cool Zebra (vanilla and chocolate striped glazes).

The Sugar Mama’s story began in 2010, when Vega started slinging kettle corn, cotton candy, and lemonade shake-ups from a food truck. The problem? “Nobody wanted a cotton candy or popcorn at 8 a.m.,” she says. That’s when she decided to focus on her hometown donuts, which are delightful all day.

Vega and her husband sold their beloved camper to buy a used Pepsi trailer truck, then placed a donut-maker into the back. Word spread fast. So fast that a few fanatics actually showed up, unannounced at her house, begging for a fresh batch. This led, in February 2025, to the opening of a brick-and-mortar Sugar Mama’s, complete with a donut wall of fame honoring all kids who’ve worked for Vega over the years. “I always felt touched that so many people would come back from college for the summer and wanting to return to their jobs,” she says. “Posting their pictures on our wall of fame was my way of saying thank you.”

Photos: Kristi Tolman (Vega and Ultimate Mighty Donuts); Jen Banowetz (classic donuts)