We first opened our doors on the 13th of July, 1937 by Vernon Rudolph. He bought a secret yeast-raised doughnut recipe from a New Orleans French chef, rented a building in what is now historic Old Salem in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and began selling Krispy Kreme Doughnuts to a local grocery store.

The delicious scent of cooking doughnuts drifted into the streets, and passers-by stopped to ask if they could buy hot doughnuts. So, he cut a hole in an outside wall and started selling hot ORIGINAL GLAZED DOUGHNUTS directly to customers on the sidewalk. From that moment onwards, our proud history was made and when you walk into any Krispy Kreme store, you are walking into the HOME OF THE ORIGINAL GLAZED DOUGHNUT, our signature product.