🍩 July 13, 1937 – Krispy Kreme Opens in North Carolina

Vernon Rudolph opened the first Krispy Kreme doughnut shop on this day in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, using a secret yeast-raised dough recipe he had purchased from a New Orleans chef. Operating as a wholesale bakery at first, he sold his hot glazed doughnuts to local grocery stores. Demand grew so rapidly that people began showing up at the bakery for fresh doughnuts, prompting Rudolph to start selling directly to passersby even before opening an official storefront.

Krispy Kreme’s focus on a consistent, high-quality product and innovative production paid off. By the 1950s, the company built a central mix plant and developed automated doughnut-making equipment to supply all its locations with a perfect dry mix. The brand expanded throughout the Southeast and eventually internationally, becoming one of the world’s most recognized sweet-treat chains with stores in over 30 countries. Its iconic Original Glazed doughnut and “Hot Now” neon signs have since become synonymous with melt-in-your-mouth indulgence.

Interesting Fact: The very first Krispy Kreme shop didn’t even have a proper counter at first – Rudolph cut a hole in an exterior wall and started selling hot doughnuts straight to customers on the sidewalk when the delicious scent lured them in.