Saddle up
Drover’s Doughnuts treats Solvang to new standard of dessert with donut sandwiches, cake shakes, dirty sodas
TAKING THE BULL BY THE HORNS: Located at 484 First St. in Solvang, Drover’s Doughnuts is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Its 252 E Highway 246 location in Buellton is open Wednesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to noon. Visit Drover’s Doughnuts on Facebook and Instagram under its name or on the web at droversdoughnuts.com. For more information, email info@droversdoughnuts.com or call 805-691-9222
Egg dressed in a body suit of cheddar cheese rests comfortably on a bed of sausage. A hint of salt from the everything seasoning greets a kick of chipotle aioli, turning the flavor party up to a Mardi Gras notch. Complementing the touch of elegance added by a sprinkle of arugula.
The bread? A plain doughnut, of course.
Drover’s Doughnuts opened up a new Solvang location on May 30. The Harvest Moon breakfast sandwich is just the introduction to its unparalleled list of selections.
“This is our first opportunity to have an expanded menu,” Loren Ollenburger, who owns and runs Drover’s, along with his wife, Sarah, said. “In Buellton, we have the traditional doughnut and coffee bar. Here, in addition to those, we’re more meal-oriented with savory breakfast and lunch sandwiches.”
Along with doughnuts and sandwiches, the menu also includes cheese and pepperoni do-pizzas.
“We do the whole classic doughnut menu—glazed, chocolate, maple, old fashioned, fritters, that sort of thing—and we have a monthly rotation of seasonal flavors,” Ollenburger said. “We try to infuse as many local flavors as we can. We have a lavender honeycomb and a blueberry lemon. This month, we’re doing a strawberry rosé.”
Only served until 2:30 p.m., lunch sandwiches come with your choice of kettle chips or mixed greens. The Bulldogger is an essential.
Succulent shredded pork packed with flavor will leave you wondering when you left the doughnut shop and entered a barbecue restaurant. Cheddar cheese and slaw with a house spice dressing detonate the flavor explosion with each bite. The crunch from the crispy onion strings meets the soft, savory plain doughnut on top, forming an outstanding texture, especially when paired with a crispy kettle chip.
Thirsty? Wash it down with one of Drover’s signature dirty sodas.
Choose from Sprite, Coke, Diet Coke, and Dr. Pepper and add vanilla or coconut creamer and a splash of strawberry, cherry, peach, vanilla, caramel, vanilla free, lavender, or white chocolate. Ollenburger said it’s up to customers to create the flavor combination they want.
The customer-favorite vanilla Dr. Pepper combination will take you back to your favorite fifties diner. Some prefer a mix of cherry and Coke. Others enjoy a peach Sprite. Whatever your chosen combination, the drink will disappear into your stomach before you can come up with a word to describe how good it was.
The doughnuts, on the other hand, pair best with Drover’s doughnut cake shakes. A milkshake with a cake doughnut and ice cream comes in your choice of chocolate or vanilla with a selection of up to two mix-ins.
The cookies and cream shake is best described as a milkshake that meets a birthday cake that meets a doughnut that meets an Oreo. You won’t believe how much that little bit of doughnut adds to the overall flavor and texture.
Surprisingly stomach-saving, the combination offers out-of-this-world flavors while maintaining a thinner consistency than a traditional heavy milkshake. The perfect sweet treat to cool off on a summer afternoon in Solvang while strolling sidewalks under the sun, it’ll leave you feeling refreshed—not bloated, sick, and regretful.
If those flavors don’t float your boat, don’t worry, Drover’s has no shortage of innovative doughnut-drink combinations.
Pair your Fruity Pebbles with a raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, and vanilla cake shake. Complement your s’mores with a chocolate hazelnut latte. Or finish your churro horchata off with a sea salt caramel cold brew.
And it’s not just the flavors—all the colors you’ll see at the Solvang location play off of each other, creating a warm, inviting atmosphere. After running the Buellton location for about six years, Ollenburger said the Solvang location has provided him and Sarah their first opportunity to design a colorful space reflective of their rainbow array of doughnuts.
The pastel chandelier shades match the cerulean, turquoise, fuchsia, and salmon rolling pins and cooking spoons attached to the wall. The servers’ black uniforms augment the bistre hues of the 375 mL Whistle Pig Barrel-Aged Vermont Organic Maple Syrup bottles for sale. Even the drinks are served with a vibrant magenta straw that echoes the carnation-colored sprinkles on the chocolate and strawberry doughnuts, creating the perfect photo opportunity.
Leaning into the drover identity, the back seating area includes a brown and white fuzzy faux fur cow ottoman and gold bull wall light fixtures.
“I often get the question, ‘Is Drover your last name,’” Owner/Operator Loren Ollenburger said. “No, drover is another name for cattleman (or) rancher. It celebrates the Santa Ynez Valley and Western heritage of California.”
The idea for the Solvang location took two years to become a tangible building open for business, he said, adding that he’s had some of the menu ideas in his head for up to five years.
“The one thing we've learned from being in the business is that every single person has their own, personal doughnut memory,” Ollenburger said. “This is a chance to create new memories in new ways that still involve donuts.”
*This story was originally published July 3, 2025, at https://www.santamariasun.com/food/drovers-doughnuts-ups-the-dessert-competition-in-solvang-with-sandwiches-cake-shakes-dirty-sodas-16643690