Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme, Inc. (previously Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.) is an American doughnut company and coffeehouse chain.

Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph, who bought a yeast-raised recipe from a New Orleans chef, rented a building in 1937 in what is now historic Old Salem in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and began selling to local grocery stores.[4][5] Steady growth preceded an ambitious expansion as a public company in the period 2000 to 2016, which ultimately proved unprofitable. In 2016, the company returned to private ownership under JAB Holding Company, a private Luxembourg-based firm. In July 2021, Krispy Kreme became publicly traded again on the Nasdaq.[2]

In 1933, eighteen-year-old Vernon Rudolph, along with his brother Lewis Rudolph, began working for his uncle, Ishmael Armstrong, who owned a small general store in Paducah, Kentucky, that sold a wide variety of goods, including its very popular doughnuts.[6] While the exact origin of the doughnut recipe remains partially a mystery, it is believed that Ishmael Armstrong was inspired by an Ohio River barge cook named Joseph LeBeouf who was famous for his light and fluffy doughnuts.[6]

The store struggled during the Great Depression. In 1934, Vernon and Ishmael decided to move to the larger city of Nashville, Tennessee, where they hoped business would be better. The uncle and nephew focused solely on selling their doughnuts and opened “The Krispy Kreme Doughnut Company” in a rented store on Gallatin Road.[6] The shop did so well that Vernon’s father, Plumie, also left Kentucky and moved to Nashville to help sell doughnuts.

In 1937, Rudolph opened his own store, deciding on Winston-Salem, North Carolina for the location when he learned that his favorite cigarette company, Camel Cigarettes, was headquartered in the small North Carolina city.[6] Rudolph primarily sold to convenience stores; however, he also sold hot doughnuts to individual customers who came during production time between midnight and 4 a.m.[6] The first store in North Carolina was located in a rented building on South Main Street in Winston-Salem in what is now called historic Old Salem. The Krispy Kreme logo was designed by Benny Dinkins, a local architect. The first Krispy Kreme bakery outside the South opened in Akron, Ohio, in 1939.

Expansion occurred in the 1950s, including an early store in Savannah, Georgia. By the 1960s, Krispy Kreme was known throughout the Southeast, and it began to expand into other areas. In 1976, Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Beatrice Foods of Chicago, Illinois. The headquarters for Krispy Kreme remained in Winston-Salem.

A group of franchisees purchased the corporation back from Beatrice Foods in 1982.