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 October2025[update].
In 1999, then owned by Canadian company Shato Holdings, there were 293 Winchell's locations in the United States.[1] That same year, in response to the arrival of Krispy Kreme donut franchises in Southern California, Winchell's introduced the concept, and slogan, "Home of the Warm 'n Fresh Donut",[1] in addition to its existing offer of a 14-doughnut dozen, as opposed to the standard baker's dozen of 13.[2]
In 2004, Winchell's had been reduced to just under 200 locations in the United States when it was purchased by Yum-Yum Donuts, a company which operates donut shops under its own name; the purchased operations continued to operate under the Winchell's name.[3]
From 2002 to 2008, Winchell's closed its shops in Portland, Oregon and they were replaced by "Heavenly Donuts".[4]
While Winchell's was headquartered in Santa Ana, California at the time of its 2004 sale to Yum Yum, by 2022 it was co-headquartered at the Yum Yum head office in the City of Industry, California.[2]As of October2025[update], the chain operates 170 locations, in the United States, Guam and Saipan,[5] of which 100 locations are in the United States: 74 in California, 12 in Colorado, 9 in Nevada, 3 in Nebraska, and one each in Kansas and Oklahoma.[6]
1 2 3 Hernandez, Greg (September 30, 1999). "Winchell's Gears Up for Doughnut War". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2014. The 293-unit Winchell's, which is owned by Shato Holdings Ltd. of Canada, reacted almost immediately to Krispy Kreme's arrival by testing a program it calls Warm 'N' Fresh…
1 2 "Home". Winchell's Donut House. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
↑ "About". Winchell's Donut House. October 5, 2025. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2025. Headquartered in City of Industry, CA … with over 170 units, in 6 states, plus locations in Guam, and Saipan.
↑ "Locations". Winchell's Donut House. October 5, 2025. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
