Winchell's Donuts
Encyclopedia
Winchell's Donuts is an international doughnut
company founded by Verne Winchell
on October 8, 1948, in Temple City, California
. , there are over 170 stores in 12 western states
, as well as Guam
, Saipan
, and Saudi Arabia
. Several stores also operated in Nagoya, Japan
in the past, with most stores located inside the Uny
supermarkets, as Uny Co., Ltd. was the master franchise
holder in Japan. It is headquartered in City of Industry, California.
The chain's slogan is "Home of the Warm 'n Fresh Donut," and it claims to be the West Coast's largest doughnut chain. It also offers its customers a 14-doughnut dozen, as opposed to the standard baker's dozen of 13.
Winchell's makes over 70 varieties of doughnuts, including raised doughnuts, cake doughnuts, buttermilk
doughnuts, twists, and jelly doughnuts. Other baked products include croissant
s, cinnamon rolls, bagels, muffins, and scones. No animal fat is used either as an ingredient or for cooking their fried dough
products. A large beverage selection is also available at each location, which includes a house blend of coffee
made from dark roasted Arabica
beans. Hot and frozen cappuccino
s, orange
and apple juice
, milk
, tea
, and soda
are also available.
Winchells was previously owned by Denny's
, the large restaurant chain.
In 2004, Winchell's was purchased by Yum-Yum Donuts
, a company which operates 70 donut shops under its own name, but continues to operate Winchell's shops under their historic name.
In 2005, it withdrew from the Kansas City
area, and most locations became Krispy Kreme
.
Doughnut
A doughnut or donut is a fried dough food and is popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets...
company founded by Verne Winchell
Verne Winchell
Vernon Hedges "Verne" Winchell was the founder of Winchell's Donuts.On October 8, 1948 he opened his first donut shop in Temple City, California and earned the nickname "The Donut King" while making a fortune with a chain of Winchell's-branded donut shops in the western United States during the...
on October 8, 1948, in Temple City, California
Temple City, California
Temple City is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Temple City is part of a cluster of cities, along with Arcadia, Rosemead, Monterey Park, San Marino, and San Gabriel, in the west San Gabriel Valley with a rapidly growing Asian population. Temple City also has a Cuban and Puerto Rican...
. , there are over 170 stores in 12 western states
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, as well as Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. Several stores also operated in Nagoya, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in the past, with most stores located inside the Uny
Uny
is a company that operates a chain of supermarkets in Japan. Most of the stores are mainly located in the Chūbu and Kantō regions , with an international branch in Cityplaza, Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong operated by Uny Co., Ltd. with a brand name called APiTA. The company is headquartered in Inazawa,...
supermarkets, as Uny Co., Ltd. was the master franchise
Master franchise
A master franchise is a person or entity who provides services to franchisees in a specified territory, typically a major market, geographical region or even one or more countries.Master franchising is a method that has been employed by most franchise systems...
holder in Japan. It is headquartered in City of Industry, California.
Winchell's makes over 70 varieties of doughnuts, including raised doughnuts, cake doughnuts, buttermilk
Buttermilk
Buttermilk refers to a number of dairy drinks. Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. It also refers to a range of fermented milk drinks, common in warm climates where unrefrigerated fresh milk otherwise sours quickly...
doughnuts, twists, and jelly doughnuts. Other baked products include croissant
Croissant
A croissant is a buttery flaky pastry named for its distinctive crescent shape. It is also sometimes called a crescent, from the French word for "crescent". Croissants are made of a leavened variant of puff pastry...
s, cinnamon rolls, bagels, muffins, and scones. No animal fat is used either as an ingredient or for cooking their fried dough
Fried dough
.Fried dough is a North American food associated with outdoor food stands in carnivals, amusement parks, fairs, rodeos, and seaside resorts . Fried dough is the specific name for a particular variety of fried bread made of a yeast dough; see the accompanying images for an example of use on...
products. A large beverage selection is also available at each location, which includes a house blend of coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
made from dark roasted Arabica
Coffea arabica
Coffea arabica is a species of Coffea originally indigenous to the mountains of Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula, hence its name, and also from the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan. It is also known as the "coffee shrub of Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica coffee"...
beans. Hot and frozen cappuccino
Cappuccino
A cappuccino is an Italian coffee drink prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed-milk foam. The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the colour of their habits.- Definition :...
s, orange
Orange juice
Orange juice is a popular beverage made from oranges. It is made by extraction from the fresh fruit, by desiccation and subsequent reconstitution of dried juice, or by concentration of the juice and the subsequent addition of water to the concentrate...
and apple juice
Apple juice
Apple juice is a fruit juice manufactured by the maceration and pressing of apples. The resulting expelled juice may be further treated by enzymatic and centrifugal clarification to remove the starch and pectin, which holds fine particulate in suspension, and then pasteurized for packaging in...
, milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
, tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
, and soda
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
are also available.
Winchells was previously owned by Denny's
Denny's
Denny's is a full-service coffee shop/family restaurant chain. It operates over 1,500 restaurants in the United States , Canada, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan , Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.Denny's is known for always being...
, the large restaurant chain.
In 2004, Winchell's was purchased by Yum-Yum Donuts
Yum-Yum Donuts
Yum-Yum Donuts is a chain of doughnut shops based in California, founded in 1971 by Phillip C. Holland. The original location, at Avenue 26 and Figueroa Street in the Highland Park district of Los Angeles, California is still in operation, but is now one of 70 Yum-Yum Donuts locations set to close...
, a company which operates 70 donut shops under its own name, but continues to operate Winchell's shops under their historic name.
In 2005, it withdrew from the Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
area, and most locations became Krispy Kreme
Krispy Kreme
Krispy Kreme is the name of an international chain of doughnut stores that was founded by Vernon Rudolph in 1937 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The parent company of Krispy Kreme is Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc...
.
Winchell's in popular culture
- Frank ZappaFrank ZappaFrank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
mentions Winchell's Donuts in "Pygmy Twylyte" on Roxy & ElsewhereRoxy & ElsewhereRoxy & Elsewhere is a live album by Frank Zappa & The Mothers which was released in 1974. Most of the songs were recorded at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, California on December 8, 9 and 10, 1973...
and in "The Blue Light" on his album Tinseltown Rebellion.
- Rapper Ice CubeIce CubeO'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
mentions Winchell's Donuts in his song "Down for Whatever."
- On Will & GraceWill & GraceWill & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
, Will TrumanWill TrumanWilliam Pierce "Will" Truman is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Eric McCormack. He is a gay lawyer who lives in the Upper West Side of New York City with his best friend, Grace Adler.-Fictional character history:...
mentions that Grace AdlerGrace AdlerGrace Elizabeth Adler-Markus is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Debra Messing. She is a Jewish interior designer , living in New York City with her gay best friend Will Truman...
missed her SATSATThe SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
s because she was waiting for the hot donuts at Winchell's. This is peculiar because Grace grew up in Poughkeepsie, New YorkPoughkeepsie (city), New YorkPoughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
, where Winchell's does not operate.
- A Winchell's Donut shop is seen in the background of Star Trek IV: The Voyage HomeStar Trek IV: The Voyage HomeStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
shortly after the crew of the late Starship EnterpriseStarship EnterpriseThe Enterprise or USS Enterprise is the name of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. It is considered a name of legacy in the fleet...
arrived in 20th century San Francisco.
- A Winchell's Donut shop is repeatedly shown in the background of Cobra (1986 film) during the gun fight in the first scene.
- The gravel roof of Winchell's Donuts was author Philip YanceyPhilip YanceyPhilip Yancey is an American Christian author. Fourteen million of his books have been sold worldwide, making him one of the best-selling evangelical Christian authors. Two of his books have won the ECPA's Christian Book of the Year Award: The Jesus I Never Knew in 1996, What's So Amazing About...
's home officeHome OfficeThe Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
view in his former Chicago home, as mentioned in "Reaching for the Invisible God."
- Winchell's is mentioned in the liner notes for Green DayGreen DayGreen Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
's album DookieDookieDookie is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Green Day. It was released on February 1, 1994 through Reprise Records. It was the band's first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo and its major record label debut. Dookie became a worldwide commercial success, peaking at number...
.
- In the HBO series John from CincinnatiJohn from CincinnatiJohn from Cincinnati is an American television drama, set against the surfing community of Imperial Beach, California, that aired on HBO from June 10, 2007 to August 12, 2007. It is the result of a collaborative effort between writer/producer David Milch and author Kem Nunn, whose novels have been...
, Ed O'NeillEd O'NeillEdward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes...
's character, Bill, gives Freddie a box of Winchell's Variety Dozen as a form of peace.
- In the film Summer SchoolSummer schoolSummer school is a school, or a program generally sponsored by a school or a school district, that teaches students during the summer vacation....
, the kids ditch Mr. Shoop's class and go to Winchell's. When they are returned by the security guard, they offer Shoop a donut.
- In the HBO series Six Feet Under there is a scene where Brenda ChenowithBrenda ChenowithBrenda Chenowith is a fictional character on the HBO television series Six Feet Under played by Rachel Griffiths. She was first introduced in the pilot, and remained until the series finale.-Prior to the Pilot:...
is sitting in a Winchell's drinking coffee by herself.
- In the music video for Rock The Casbah by The Clash an Armadillo is seen passing a Winchell's Donut's in Austin Texas