Krispy Kreme Doughnuts – History

24 July 2010 in Delicious!

We all love Krispy Kreme doughnuts and the “Hot Doughnut” sign makes us smile as we travel.  There is not much to say about savoring a soft, warm glazed fresh off the rack.  Sexy?  Food porn material at it’s best.  Wipe the drool from your lips and continue reading the history of Krispy Kreme.  The nutrition facts may surprise you and you may not feel too bad about eating the third or fourth doughnut the next time.

The founder, Vernon Rudolph, worked for his uncle, Ishmael Armstrong, who purchased a secret recipe for yeast-raised doughnuts and a shop on Broad Street in Paducah, Kentucky, from Joseph LeBeouf of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Rudolph began selling the yeast doughnuts in Paducah and delivered them on his bicycle. The operation was moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and other family members joined to meet the customer demand. The first store in the nation with the Krispy-Kreme name opened on Charlotte Pike in 1933. Rudolph sold his interest in the Nashville store and in 1938 opened a doughnut shop in Winston-Salem, and began selling to groceries and then directly to individual customers. 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.

By the 1960s, Krispy Kreme was known throughout the southeastern United States, 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.

A location in Eden Prairie, closed as of February 21, 2008, along with all Minnesota, USA locations

In 2003, a pilot project in Mountain View, California, to sell doughnuts through car windows and sunroofs at a busy intersection (with wireless payment) failed.

krispy kreme

krispy kreme

On February 19, 2007, Krispy Kreme began selling the Whole Wheat Glazed doughnut in an attempt to appeal to the health conscious. The doughnut has 83.736kJ (20 kilocalories in most countries, or 20 Calories in the US) fewer than the original glazed (754 kJ vs. 837 kJ) and contains more fiber (2 grams vs. 0.5 grams). As of January 2008, thetrans fat content of all Krispy Kreme doughnuts was reduced to 0.5 of a gram or less. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in its guidelines, allows companies to round down to 0 g in its nutrition facts label even if the food contains as much as 0.5 of a gram per serving. Krispy Kreme benefited from this regulatory loophole in its subsequent advertising campaign, touting its doughnuts as “trans fat free” and having “0 grams trans fat!”.

On July 1, 2010, Krispy Kreme introduced a doughnut that included the soft drink Cheerwine, which was to be sold in grocery stores in North and South Carolina during July. The doughnuts proved so popular the Salisbury, North Carolina Krispy Kreme location, in the town where Cheerwine is made, sold them as well. (Source Wikipedia)

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24 July 2010 Delicious!

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