Britt’s Donuts owner Bobby Nivens dies at 86

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Robert “Bobby” Nivens, longtime owner of Britt’s Donuts and a beloved figure on the Carolina Beach boardwalk, has died at the age of 86.

Nivens passed away Tuesday. A funeral service will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at Andrews Valley Chapel, followed by burial at Greenlawn Memorial Park.

Nivens purchased Britt’s Donuts in 1974 from original owner H.L. Britt but had worked there decades earlier while attending high school. The shop first opened in 1939 and is one of the oldest operating businesses in Carolina Beach.

Known for its simple menu and famous glazed doughnuts served warm in a white paper sack, Britt’s has become a summer tradition for generations of locals and visitors. Nivens and his wife, Maxine, closely guarded the shop’s original recipe, which he continued to make by hand using the same equipment from his teenage years.

Over the years, Nivens told WWAY the secret to Britt’s success wasn’t just the doughnuts, it was the loyal customers who returned year after year.

“The donut shop is one of the oldest businesses down here,” Nivens said in a 2016 interview. “We just have a lot of good customers that keep coming in. We get to see people you normally wouldn’t get to see if it wasn’t for a place like this.”