#Doughnuts September 23

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

This month the #Coach4adayChallenge for September is to profile a biography of someone. Today will focus on a entrepreneur who created quite a business with DOUGHNUTS. A business with ties to North Carolina.

There is road race in Raleigh NC that has at its center DOUGHNUTS. It is held at NC State and is called the “Krispy Kreme Challenge”. I personally know people including Mike & Allson DeCinti along with Randall & Amie Graham who have completed this 5 mile, 12 DOUGHNUTS in one hour challenge.

The mantra of the Krispy Kreme Challenge epitomizes the test of physical fitness and gastrointestinal fortitude.  What started as a challenge among ten friends has transformed into a nationally publicized charity race, and the number one tradition to complete before graduating from North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

Krispy Kreme DOUGHNUTS

I am not sure that in 1933, a man named Vernon Rudolph while purchasing a secret recipe for yeast-raised DOUGHNUTS from a New Orleans-French chef envisioned a road race where people would run 2.5 miles, eat a dozen donuts, and run 2.5 miles back to the finish line. Rudolph making that purchase started the beginning of Krispy Kreme DOUGHNUTS.

Rudolph opened a doughnut shop in Paducah, Kentucky after purchasing the recipe. He soon moved to Winston-Salem, NC, (some say Camel cigarettes attracted him to the city) where he opened the first Krispy Kreme on July 13, 1937.

From a rented building in what is now Historic Old Salem, Rudolph baked his Krispy Kreme doughnuts and sold them to local grocery stores.

It was not long before the sweet smell of baking doughnuts attracted customers directly to Rudolph’s store. Envisioning a potential business opportunity, Rudolph cut a hole in the wall of his bakery and began to sell the hot doughnuts directly to customers.

In the 1940s, he sold franchises and in 1947, he founded the Krispy Kreme Corporation, becoming Chairman and President. Today there are 362 Krispy Kreme locations in the United States. The state with the most number of Krispy Kreme locations in the US is California, with 35 locations. North Carolina has 23 locations including two stores and the corporate headquarters.