In true Vegas style, famous donut chain Randy’s Donuts is opening (lucky No.) 7 locations in Las Vegas. If you're not familiar with the chain, it's the one with the iconic giant donut on top of most of its outlets. It's starred in a Justin Timberlake’s music video, and movies ranging from "Earth Girls Are Easy" to "Iron Man 2"
Randy's Donuts, and the giant rooftop confection, got its start in Los Angeles in 1952.
Vegas Loves Its Donuts
Krispy Kreme (DNUT) already has locations in Las Vegas with several 24-hour service stores offering fresh donuts. The donut maker offers delivery along with online orders. The donut store has been in the Las Vegas area since 1998. Its first store opened on Rainbow Boulevard. The launch of the store shut down traffic and had lines of cars over 12 cars deep, something unheard of at the time, well, for donuts.
Dunkin Donuts (DNKN) also has 25 locations in Las Vegas. When Dunkin Donuts first opened in Las Vegas in 2007, the new store set records for the most days of sales beating the old record by 16% and the new store broke the previous first week's sale record by 41%.
Worth the Wait
When Mark Kelegian and his family purchased the Randy's Donuts business in 2015, the concept was to expand the chain internationally through franchising. The international franchises either in the works or already opened are in South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, France, Morocco, Egypt, Kuwait and Bahrain.
While also adding locations in Southern California, other locations across the U.S. are in the works in Texas, New York, Illinois, Arizona, Utah, Florida, and Missouri, according to the company. It’s said that good things come to those who wait, so hopefully these patient customers will get their Randy’s Donuts in the near future.
Randy’s Is All-In on Vegas
Kelegian, a retired attorney, is no stranger to the Vegas market, having experience in casinos and franchises with Subway and WaBa Grill. According to the company, these ventures give him an edge in understanding restaurants and franchising opportunities. He wasn’t looking to add to his investment portfolio, Randy's says, but when he went to his first Randy’s Donuts, he was impressed by the crowds of people waiting for donuts.
Kelegian bought the first Randy’s location in Inglewood, Calif. from owners and founders, brothers Larry and Ron Weintraub. The brothers were wanting to sell the business they had grown and loved for over 45 years. Keeping with the family-owned operations, Kelegian purchased the donut store with his daughters.
Randy's Is Raising Dough
Franchises typically start at $35,000, however the total investment to open either a non-baking kiosk store, inline store, or a drive-thru store ranges from $250,000 to just over $1 million.
The first Las Vegas location is set to open on Aug. 16 at 2170 S. Rainbow Blvd. This location was previously a Carnitas and will be on the same street of the first Krispy Kreme location where, in 1998, cars lined up to get a donut. This new Randy's will have a drive-thru.
