Growing Texas doughnut chain wants to expand into Kansas, and Wichita is on its list
Popular doughnut shop chain Shipley Do-Nuts is ready to franchise across the Midwest, and Wichita is on its target list.
That means that if the chain, based in Houston, can find a local franchisee, Wichita could eventually get a taste of its fluffy glazed doughnuts and savory kolaches.
On Wednesday, the company issued a release saying it now has franchise expansion plans for the Midwest, and it listed Wichita and several other cities in Kansas — Topeka, Salina and Hutchinson among them — as markets available to franchisees. It also wants to enter the Kansas City market, and it’s offering financial incentives to qualified franchisees across the Midwest.
Shipley, founded in 1936, now has more than 340 stores across three states (compared to Krispy Kreme’s 356 U.S. shops). Most of them are in Texas, and the closest Shipley Do-Nuts to Wichita is in Warr Acres, Oklahoma — a northwest suburb of Oklahoma City. The company is expected to nearly double in size over the next five years, according to the release.
Its menu includes more than 60 varieties of glazed, filled and cake doughnuts as well as kolaches stuffed with things like sausage, ham and cheese. It also serves hot and iced coffee.
Attentive Eagle readers with long memories pointed out on Wednesday that Shipley Do-Nuts has operated in the Wichita area before. The first ones appear to have opened at 444 S. Oliver and 1557 S. Broadway in the early 1960s. By the late 1960s, the shops were called Erdman’s Shipley Donut, and the Broadway store was replaced by one at 225 N. West St. The last time an ad for Shipley Do-Nuts appeared in local newspapers was 1970.
More information about franchising a Shipley Do-Nut shop is available at ownashipleydonuts.com
