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Krispy kreme.

Krispy Kreme is an international chain of doughnut stores that was founded by Vernon Rudolph in 1937 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The parent company is Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD), which is based in Winston-Salem.

While selling assorted types of doughnuts, Krispy Kreme's signature item is a glazed doughnut that is traditionally served warm.

Products are sold in Krispy Kreme stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, Wal-Mart and Target stores in the United States. Internationally, Loblaws supermarkets and Petro-Canada gas stations in Canada along with BP Service Stations and BP Travel Centres in Australia carry Krispy Kreme. In the United Kingdom Tesco supermarkets, Tesco Extra and most service stations carry Krispy Kreme products.

The company's growth was steady prior to its initial public offering but profits have decreased in recent quarters. However, new branches have opened in downtown Philadelphia and other locations.

History

Krispy Kreme's founder Vernon Rudolph and his uncle purchased Joseph LeBeouf's donut shop on Broad Street in Paducah, Kentucky along with a secret recipe for yeast-raised doughnuts in 1933 acquired from a Buffalo, New York businessman. 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. Rudolph sold his interest in the Nashville store in 1937 and opened a doughnut shop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina selling to grocery stores 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.

Expansion occurred in the 1950s, including an early store in Savannah, Georgia, and elsewhere in the South. By the 1960s, Krispy Kreme was...