GREENWICH VILLAGE, Manhattan — With its iconic giant donut perched on the roof of its tiny 1950s drive-up building, Randy’s Donuts is one of the most cinematic stops in Southern California, blending the whimsy of must-photograph roadside Americana with the wonders of must-sample roadside eats.
Randy’s is so associated with Los Angeles that, for many visitors, the donut shop is their first stop after landing at nearby Los Angeles International Airport. (Or perhaps Randy’s is dessert after the obligatory visit to In-N-Out Burger.)
Now Randy’s is on cross-country roll, and the Big Donut has arrived in the Big Apple.
On Dec. 9, Randy’s Donuts first welcomed eager customers at its outpost in Greenwich Village as part of an expansion of the brand beyond its Los Angeles base.
“When people fly into LA, they go to Randy’s, they’d see the donut, and they have that nostalgic feeling,” said Scott Hartner, the franchise owner of the Randy’s Donuts in NYC. “I want the same nostalgia for the people of New York.”
With its Gotham debut, Randy’s has roamed far from Inglewood, California, where it opened in 1953 as the second location of the Big Do-Nut chain. That brand is long gone but several locations carry on under new names, preserving their giant donuts, with Randy’s by far the most famous, perhaps a happy accident of its prominent location by the airport.
Randy’s assumed its current name in the 1970s. Visitors to the location stand in line (or wait in the drive-thru lane) while others mill about snapping selfies with the celebrated donut. Randy’s has made several appearances in popular movies and television shows such as “Iron Man 2,” “Arrested Development,” and “Futurama.”
In 2015, under the new ownership of attorney Mark Kelegian, the donut brand started its expansion, opening dozens of locations across the country and abroad. Its store in Manhattan, located at 185 Bleecker St., is Randy’s first franchise in the Northeast.
Randy’s NYC store features classic flavors such as the Apple Fritter and the Glazed Old Fashioned, as well as new holiday-themed flavors offered for a limited time.
“We are smaller here because we bake off-site, but this is a perfect space for us. It’s 400 square feet, we’re right on the main strip of Bleecker, our neighbors are great, NYU is here. This is the perfect spot to test the brand. And from there, who knows,” Hartner said.
