Winchell's Donuts House is an international
doughnut
A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fran ...
company and
coffeehouse
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other no ...
chain founded by
Verne Winchell on October 8, 1948, in
Temple City, California
Temple City, officially the City of Temple City, is a city in Los Angeles County, California located northeast of downtown Los Angeles and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. Temple City is part of a cluster of cities, along with Pasadena, ...
. Currently, there are over 170 stores in 6 western
states
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* '' State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our ...
, as well as
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...
,
Saipan
Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 est ...
, and
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...
. Several stores also operated in
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...
,
Japan in the past, with most stores located inside
Uny supermarkets, as Uny Co., Ltd. was the
master franchise
A master franchise is a franchise relationship in which the owner of the franchise brand (the master franchisor) grants to another party the right to recruit new franchisees in a specific area. In exchange, the other party typically pays some pri ...
holder in Japan. It is headquartered in the
City of Industry, California
City of Industry is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is almost entirely industrial, containing over 3,000 businesses employing 67,000 people, with only 264 residents as of the ...
.
History
The chain's slogan is "Home of the Warm 'n Fresh Donut," and it claims to be the West Coast's largest doughnut chain. It also offers its customers a 14-doughnut dozen, as opposed to the standard
baker's dozen
A dozen (commonly abbreviated doz or dz) is a grouping of twelve.
The dozen may be one of the earliest primitive integer groupings, perhaps because there are approximately a dozen cycles of the Moon, or months, in a cycle of the Sun, or yea ...
of 13.
Winchell's was previously owned by
Denny's
Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries.
Description
Originally opened as a coffee shop under th ...
.
In 2004, Winchell's was purchased by
Yum-Yum Donuts, a company which operates 70 donut shops under its own name, but continues to operate Winchell's shops under their name.
In the early 2000s, Winchell's closed its shops in Portland, Oregon and they were replaced by "Heavenly Donuts".
In 2005, it withdrew from the
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
area, and most locations became
Krispy Kreme
Krispy Kreme, Inc. (previously Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.) is an American multinational doughnut company and coffeehouse chain.
Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph (1915–1973), who bought a yeast-raised recipe from a New Orleans c ...
.
See also
*
List of doughnut shops
Doughnut shops (also spelled donut shops) specialize in the preparation and retail sales of doughnuts. A doughnut is a type of fried dough confectionery or dessert food. The doughnut is popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as ...
References
External links
*
{{Fast-food chains of the United States
Doughnut shops
Bakeries of California
Fast-food chains of the United States
Regional restaurant chains in the United States
Companies based in the City of Industry, California
Companies based in Los Angeles County, California
Restaurants established in 1948
1948 establishments in California
Economy of the Western United States
Restaurants in California