Dandee Donuts: A Melbourne Icon Since the ’60s

Since the late 1960s, Dandee Donuts has been serving its fluffy, sugar-dusted doughnuts from its gold-and-purple vans at markets and sporting events. The doughnuts—and the hot jam filling—are prepared in an off-site kitchen and cooked fresh to order.

A Backyard Beginning

The mobile business began in an Oakleigh backyard. Founder Dick Bell, a former employee of American Doughnut Kitchen, built the vans himself. He even named one “Blue Hills” after the long-running TV series, as it took so long to finish. Today, the business is run by his daughter, Susan Bell.

From Markets to Modernisation

Early locations included Hurst Reserve in Oakleigh and the Clayton Shopping Centre. Now, the original aging caravan has been replaced with a portable building at Dandenong Market, where the stall has become a well-known fixture. Nutella-filled doughnuts have joined the menu (a nod to modern tastes), though the classic hot jam version remains the most popular.

More Than Just Doughnuts

For many Melburnians, the doughnuts bring back fond childhood memories, with the Oakleigh Football Club-themed vans a familiar sight at games and festivals for decades.