Winchell's Donuts
Home of the Warm 'n Fresh Donut.
Last updated
Winchell's Donut House is an international doughnut company and coffeehouse chain founded by Verne Winchell in 1948, in Temple City, California. In 1999, when the company was owned by Canadian company Shato Holdings, there were 293 Winchell's locations in the Western United States; by 2004, when it was bought by competing chain Yum Yum Donut Shops, Inc., the chain had been reduced to nearly 200 locations; by 2025, this had been further reduced to Winchell's 100 locations in six states, plus locations in Guam and Saipan. In the past, there have also been franchise locations in Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia, though information on these operations needs to be updated as of 2025 October.
History
Verne Winchell founded the company on October 8, 1948, in Temple City, California. In 1999, when owned by Canadian company Shato Holdings, Winchell's operated 293 U.S. locations. That year, in response to Krispy Kreme franchises entering Southern California, Winchell's introduced the slogan "Home of the Warm 'n Fresh Donut" and offered a 14-doughnut dozen instead of the standard baker's dozen of 13. By 2004, the chain had shrunk to just under 200 U.S. locations and was purchased by Yum-Yum Donuts, which continued operating the shops under the Winchell's name.
From 2002 to 2008, Winchell's closed its Portland, Oregon shops, which were replaced by Heavenly Donuts. In 2005, it withdrew from the Kansas City, Missouri area. At the time of its 2004 sale, Winchell's was headquartered in Santa Ana, California; by 2022 it was co-headquartered with Yum Yum in the City of Industry, California. As of October 2025, the chain operates 170 locations total, with 100 in the United States: 74 in California, 12 in Colorado, 9 in Nevada, 3 in Nebraska, and one each in Kansas and Oklahoma.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Winchell's Donuts (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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