Talk about a hole lot of drama.
The Bay Area’s most talked-about new doughnut shop isn’t making headlines for its glaze.
It’s making them for where it opened.
Randy’s Donuts, the iconic Southern California chain famous for the giant rooftop doughnut at its original Inglewood shop, officially opened its first Northern California location in Santa Clara this week.
But instead of a warm welcome, the newcomer has been iced by locals after setting up shop directly across the street from Stan’s Donut Shop, the family-owned institution that’s been serving the community since 1959.
By Friday morning, the sugary showdown had already spilled onto the sidewalk.
Someone drew “Stan’s” in chalk outside Randy’s with a heart wrapped around it, a not-so-subtle love letter to the hometown favorite, as supporters proudly wore shirts saying “Stand with Stan’s.
For plenty of Santa Clara residents, this isn’t just about doughnuts. It’s about a fast-growing franchise squaring off against a neighborhood icon.
Critics blasted Randy’s for opening just steps from a business that has spent 67 years earning generations of loyal customers, with some calling it a corporate invasion from Southern California.
The location has also poured glaze on the longtime NorCal versus SoCal rivalry, with social media users telling Randy’s to “go back to LA.”
Stan’s faithful argue their shop’s fresh, melt-in-your-mouth glazed doughnuts, made on-site daily, are in a different league.
The old-school bakery also has the edge on price, charging $1.90 for a glazed doughnut compared with Randy’s $2.75.
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And while Randy’s has embraced modern expansion, Stan’s hasn’t changed much at all.
The shop still accepts only cash or checks, no credit cards, debit cards or mobile payments.
Current co-owner Julie Clark said she never expected a doughnut shop to become the center of such a frenzy.
“It’s just a doughnut shop, for Pete’s sake,” Clark told SFGATE.
She admitted she has been stunned by the outpouring of hometown support.
“I know we have loyal people,” she said. “We have regulars, three and four generations, who come here together. It’s a place people come back to because it hasn’t changed that much. There aren’t a lot of places left in Santa Clara like that.”
Clark’s father, Stanford “Stan” Wittmayer, opened the bakery with his wife, Florence “Tina” Wittmayer, in 1959.
A World War II veteran who worked for Lucky grocery stores, he started the business to support his nine children while creating a neighborhood gathering spot.
Today, Stan’s is still family-owned and still has just one location.
Randy’s took the opposite route.
The original shop opened in 1952 as part of the now-defunct Big Donut Drive-In chain founded by doughnut machine salesman Russell Wendell.
It stayed a one-store operation for decades before entrepreneur and attorney Mark Kelegian bought the company in 2015 with ambitions to grow the brand worldwide.
Those plans kicked into high gear after Randy’s launched its franchise program in 2019.
The chain now has more than 50 locations across California, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia, plus international stores in Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, with another 10 locations on the way.
So while Randy’s chased a franchise empire, Stan’s stayed exactly what made it famous: one family-run doughnut shop that’s become a Santa Clara tradition.
The internet, meanwhile, has happily gobbled up the rivalry.
“Hell yeah Santa Clara! Way to show up for the locals,” one person wrote.
Another suggested everyone should simply enjoy both, posting: “Stan’s at 8 a.m. Randy’s at 8 p.m. Win-win.”
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