Southern Maid Donuts and Music: A Match Made in Shreveport

Southern Maid Donuts have been a staple of the Shreveport community since 1941. And honestly, is there anything more Shreveport than a hot Southern Maid? Who doesn't love a quality donut with the consistency of semi-solidified pudding? If left to my own devices, I could literally eat a dozen Southern Maid Donuts without even trying.

Obviously, I'm not the only one who loves Southern Maid. The original store opened up on Hearne Avenue in 1941. Now, you can get the beloved pastry in over 100 different places.

In large part, the success of Southern Maid can be traced back to their partnership with the Louisiana Hayride. Bruce Jones, the owner of the local Southern Maid franchise, was a smart businessman and music lover. So, he'd always send a few boxes of donuts to the Municipal on Hayride nights. The donuts were so good, that it led to the only commercial/endorsement of Elvis' career. According to local lore, Elvis loved Southern Maid so much, he cut the commercial in 1954 for a dozen of fresh glazed donuts. Rumor is that the commercial never got a full television run and has only been seen by a handful of people.

But Elvis was not the only world famous musician to cut a commercial for Southern Maid. Johnny Cash, Minnie Pearl, Johnny Horton and dozens of others also lent their voices to the famous Southern Maid jingle.

The world has changed a lot since Southern Maid came into existence in 1937. But one thing that hasn't changed is Southern Maid Donuts. They're just as good now as they were when Elvis would swing by the Hearne location before making thousands of girls scream at Municipal Auditorium.