The Tatonut Donut Shop
Ocean Springs, MS
Photo: Paul Lowry / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
The Tatonut Donut Shop has fried potato-flour donuts on Government Street in Ocean Springs since 1960, opening at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Atmosphere
Tatonut is a small, family-run shop on Government Street with a display case that is the whole show: yellow trays stacked on wooden shelves, each one labeled and full. Inside there are wooden tables and red chairs, and a little seating outdoors, but most people come in, point and leave with a box. Robert Mohler opened the shop in November 1960, first running it as a Spudnut franchise before breaking away and naming it Tato-Nut. His son David took over in 1983, and today David's widow Theresa and their daughter Katelyn run it. The shop reopened after Hurricane Katrina after about a week.
What to Order
The potato flour is the point. It makes the donuts light and tender, with a softer bite than a standard wheat-flour donut. The chocolate frosting is a Mohler family recipe. The case includes maple iced cake, blueberry cake, devil's food cake, red velvet cake, applesauce cake, sprinkled and chocolate iced Tatonuts, cinnamon rolls, and donut holes. There is also a donut of the month that rotates, so ask what is new. Coffee is a real offer here too, with espresso drinks, cold brew and smoothies alongside the standard cup.
Good to Know
The shop's listings show hours of 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and it is closed Sunday and Monday. These come from local guides rather than a recent official posting, so check the shop's Facebook page before you go, since hours can change. Get there early. Lines form in the morning and popular flavors sell out well before closing. Donut hole cakes can be ordered for birthdays, showers and weddings, and the shop caters events. Parking is on and around Government Street, a short drive from downtown Ocean Springs.
Our Take
Tatonut is one of the small institutions that gives Ocean Springs its character: family-owned since 1960 and still frying potato-flour donuts every morning. Go on a Tuesday to Saturday morning before 8, order a dozen mixed, and eat one in the car before you remember you were saving them for the beach.
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Details last verified September 2026. Always confirm current hours and menu directly with the restaurant.