Meet Amanda Rienerth of Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Rienerth.

Hi Amanda, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

Here’s a version that sounds much more like your voice while keeping it polished for a magazine.

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Donut Land was founded by my grandfather, Bill Rienerth, in 1972. Before opening Donut Land, he worked at Mister Donut beginning in 1960 when he was just 19 years old. At the time, many people told him he was crazy for opening a donut shop in Brunswick because it was such a small town. Thankfully, he didn’t listen.

I worked at Donut Land as a teenager but eventually spent nearly 20 years running a healthcare business. In 2019, after my grandfather’s health began declining, he asked me to come back and help because he was considering closing or selling the business. I came back with one goal: to help preserve what he had spent his life building.

When I returned, I focused on modernizing the business while staying true to who we were. We rebuilt our online presence, grew our social media, and introduced Donut Land to a whole new generation of customers. The support from our community has been incredible, and we’ve experienced growth beyond anything we imagined.

When my grandfather passed away in 2021, I made him a promise that I would find Donut Land a permanent home. For 54 years, we rented our original building, and one of his biggest regrets was never owning it. After a three-year probate process, I officially became the owner in 2024 and immediately began searching for a building that could carry Donut Land into the future.

That search led us to our new home, where Donut Land now operates out of a building we own for the very first time in our history. The move came with plenty of challenges, but it also marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter.

Today, Donut Land remains exactly what my grandfather envisioned over 50 years ago: a family-owned, mom-and-pop donut shop where everything is still made fresh by hand every single day. My goal has never been to change what made Donut Land special—it’s been to honor my grandfather’s legacy while making sure it continues for generations to come.
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Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been plenty of challenges along the way.

When I came back to Donut Land in 2019, I wasn’t stepping into a thriving business—I was stepping into one that my grandfather was preparing to close or sell because of his declining health. My first challenge was figuring out how to modernize the business while still preserving everything people had loved about it for generations.

After my grandfather passed away in 2021, we spent three years going through probate before I could officially become the owner. During that time, I couldn’t move forward with many of the long-term plans I had because I didn’t legally own the business yet. It was frustrating knowing where I wanted to take Donut Land but having to wait.

Once I became the owner, the biggest challenge was finding a permanent home. We had rented the same building for 54 years, and moving a business that had become such a landmark in the community was a huge undertaking. Then came the construction, the move itself, training an entirely new team, learning a brand-new facility, and trying to keep up with demand after opening. The support from the community has been overwhelming, but with that support came record-breaking crowds that pushed both our staff and our equipment to their limits.

Through it all, I’ve learned that growth is exciting, but it also comes with responsibility. Every challenge has reminded me why I came back in the first place—to honor my grandfather’s legacy, take care of our employees, and continue serving the community that has supported our family for more than five decades.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At the end of the day, we make donuts—but what we’re really in the business of is people.

Everything we sell is still made by hand, the same way it has been for more than 50 years. Every donut is hand cut, hand filled, hand frosted, and made fresh daily. We don’t take shortcuts, and we’ve never tried to become a factory. Staying true to those traditions is something I’m incredibly proud of.

What sets Donut Land apart isn’t just the quality of our product—it’s the relationship we’ve built with our community. We know our customers by name, we’ve watched generations of families come through our doors, and we’ve been honored to be part of so many of life’s milestones. Whether it’s someone’s morning coffee, a birthday, a graduation, or just a Saturday family tradition, people have made Donut Land part of their lives.

I’m also proud of what we’ve accomplished over the last several years. We were able to modernize the business, grow our reach, and move into our first owned building without losing what made Donut Land special in the first place. That balance was incredibly important to me. I never wanted to change Donut Land—I wanted to preserve its history while making sure it would be here for future generations.

If there’s one thing I’m most proud of, it’s earning the trust of our community. The incredible support we’ve received over the years—and especially during our move into the new building—is something I’ll never take for granted. Knowing that people don’t just come here for donuts, but because they genuinely care about our family and our story, is the greatest compliment I could ever receive.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
One thing that surprises a lot of people is that I didn’t spend my entire career in the donut business. I worked at Donut Land as a teenager, but then spent nearly 20 years running a healthcare business before returning in 2019.

When my grandfather’s health began declining, he asked me to come back because he was considering closing or selling Donut Land. Coming back wasn’t part of some lifelong business plan—it was about helping my grandfather and preserving something that meant so much to our family and our community.

Another thing people may not realize is that I wear just about every hat imaginable. On any given day, I might be baking donuts, helping customers, fixing equipment, training employees, managing social media, handling payroll, planning construction projects, or cleaning floors. Owning a small family business means there really isn’t a job that’s “beneath you.”

I think that’s one of the reasons people connect with Donut Land. Everything you see—from our handmade donuts to our social media—is genuine. What people see online is exactly who I am in real life, and I believe authenticity is one of the biggest reasons our community has embraced us the way they have.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://donutlandohio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donutlandohio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DonutLand1972
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DonutLandBrunswick