Hot Doughnuts Now!
Krispy Kreme's lighted neon sign can bring traffic to a screaching halt. Those warm, melt-in-your-mouth, sugar-glazed fried confections are as much a Southern tradition as grits -- and some might argue, a lot better-tasting.
Krispy Kreme's first store opened in 1937 in Winston-Salem, N.C., with the first franchise in Augusta. The Augusta operation is a family-owned business now in its third generation.
In celebration of the Krispy Kreme tradition, Augusta franchise owner Frank Guthrie Jr. has commissioned local artist Brian Stewart to paint a mural on an exterior wall of the Guthrie family's Krispy Kreme location on Washington Road. Set in the 1930s, the mural depicts the Winston-Salem store and street scene.
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Brian Stewart stands next to a mural he is painting on the side of the Krispy Kreme donut shop on Washington Road. The mural depicts the first Krispy Kreme shop in the country.
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Frank Guthrie Sr., now 85, worked at Winston-Salem's Krispy Kreme under founder Vernon Rudolph. After learning the recipe, Mr. Guthrie Sr. and his wife, Lurline, opened Golden Creme Doughnut Co. in 1946 on 13th Street in Augusta.
``To get the money to go in business, Mom took in boarders and Dad drove a bus,'' said his son, Frank Guthrie Jr. ``The day he quit (the bus route), a man told him he'd never sell enough doughnuts to stay in business. But after World War II, it wasn't hard to sell sweets because everyone had been deprived of them for so long.''
In 1949, Krispy Kreme approached Mr. Guthrie Sr. and he signed a franchise agreement with the company.
``They were actually making Krispy Kreme doughnuts because they had the recipe,'' Mr. Guthrie Jr. said.
Not only did the Guthrie family face the routine challenges of starting a business, they faced supply shortages following World War II. Shortening was especially hard to find, said Mr. Guthrie Jr., recalling when Murray Biscuit Co. founder John Murray bailed out his father by selling him 300 pounds of shortening.
In 1950, Augusta's Krispy Kreme moved to Walton Way where the business operated until losing its lease in 1998. Today, the Guthrie family owns three Krispy Kreme locations in the Augusta area and one each in Athens, Ga., and Orlando, Fla.
Mr. Guthrie Jr. began working at his father's business in 1946 at age 6 -- peeling potatoes, which in those years were used in the dough. While Mr. Guthrie Jr. grew up viewing Krispy Kreme as work, Southerners think of the doughnuts as part of their culture.
Representatives from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington approached Krispy Kreme in 1997 during research into Southern traditions.
``At the time, we were primarily centered in the South,'' Mr. Guthrie Jr. said. ``They asked us to assemble artifacts and records for them to look at -- old equipment, records, pictures, whatever we could get in the way of memorabilia. In 1997, we donated the collection to them. From time to time, it's on display in the American History Museum in Washington.''
The Krispy Kreme chain was purchased by Beatrice Foods after Rudolph died in 1973 and a group of associate operators, including Mr. Guthrie Sr., bought the company in 1982. Mr. Guthrie Jr. now serves on its board of directors.
Krispy Kreme has 150 stores with plans to open 28 more this year. In August, the company announced it is considering an initial public offering of shares of its common stock -- possibly later this year.
Seventy percent of Krispy Kreme's business stems from off-premises sales -- doughnuts sold wholesale to supermarkets and as fund-raisers for schools, churches and civic groups.
``In terms of volume, we may be the largest (doughnut company) in the United States,'' Mr. Guthrie Jr. said. ``On any given day, the average Krispy Kreme store will make 60,000 to 70,000 doughnuts.''
Krispy Kreme's Washington Road store is ideal for the mural celebrating the company's history because many photographs of the old 13th Street store are kept there, Mr. Guthrie Jr. said.
The family continues the Krispy Kreme tradition today with Lurline and Frank Guthrie Sr.'s grandchildren now involved in the family business. The chain is expanding westward and has enjoyed national media attention since it was featured in the movie Primary Colors, Mr. Guthrie Jr. said.
``We've had over 100 exposures on national TV shows in the past six to eight months,'' he said. ``There was the Rosie O'Donnell Show, Primary Colors and with Bill Clinton being a large doughnut eater, it certainly didn't hurt us any. We're out there.''
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Melissa Hall at (706) 868-1222, Ext. 113,
or ccchron@augustachronicle.com.
