There are many fun foods that nearly everyone can agree upon, and the short list includes hamburgers, French fries, pizzas and donuts.
On Wednesday afternoon, the first Randy’s Donuts in the San Fernando Valley had its grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at 3007 North Hollywood Way, a mere stone’s throw from Burbank Airport.
The ceremony kicked off National Donut Month and from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m., each guest received a classic raised glazed donut.
During June, Randy’s Donuts Pride Flag Donuts, which is priced at $3.35, will be available at all corporate locations and the proceeds will be donated to the Los Angeles LGBT Center and LGBTQ Center Orange County. Availability of the Pride Flag Donuts at franchise locations may vary.
For the hundreds of people standing in line, whether to buy a single donut or a box full of a dozen, each left the counter with a big smile on their face.
Larry Weintraub and his brother Ron Weintraub, the previous owners of the iconic Randy’s Donuts in Inglewood, were on hand.
Also present were the current owners, Panos Grivakis and his wife Rena Grivakis, along with the third partner Byung Kim.
One key factor in choosing Burbank as the 10th location of Randy’s Donuts is that it’s a family community and it’s supportive of its businesses.
“We’re really excited. We kind of feel like with the Burbank Airport, we’re representing the original iconic one at LAX. Burbank is the LAX of the Valley and we just thought it was the perfect fit,” Panos Grivakis said. “Burbank is known for its baked goods, so everything just matched up and we found a location with a brand-new development [Avion Burbank] and it worked out. We’re really excited to be here and the community has been super supportive.”
In the crowd were several Chamber of Commerce members along with Mayor Jess Talamantes.
“This is a great day for the city. There’s a lot of good donut shops throughout the city, they’re all good, but there’s only one Randy’s Donuts,” Talamantes said. “So now it’s in Burbank. I’m so glad that they came to Burbank. They picked Burbank. This is the place to be, it’s the media capital of the world. Any business that starts here is very successful moving forward. Especially here next to the airport. I’m very proud of being mayor right now, but it happens by happenstance.”
Talamantes pointed out several reasons why people live in Burbank and those who move to Burbank.
“People move into Burbank because of the schools and the public services we provide,” he said.
Kim was thrilled that the community is so supportive of Randy’s Donuts.
“We’re very excited because it’s our first Randy’s and we’re looking to expand in the San Fernando Valley,” he said. “We’re excited to do it here in Burbank because we love the city and we love the crowds and the proximity of all the businesses to the airport. This will be the foundation for all the stores in the future.”
The Weintraub brothers were happy for this day, and both have fond memories of owning the company.
“We started Randy’s Donuts, the big donut in Inglewood in October of 1978. We were actually the third owners of that business,” Larry Weintraub said. “We bought it from our uncle who was the second owner, and we were there for almost forty years. It’s an iconic location. In fact, they’re franchising it all over the world. People have known about it from all over the world. It’s become a destination. We used to have a lot of Lakers come in. It makes people happy when they have a donut. It’s sweet and it’s good.”
Ron Weintraub said this is an exciting day for him and the business that he spent so much time with.
“It’s great. This is what they should be doing,” he said. “When we owned it, we got requests from Libya and from Russia. We wish the new owners the best of luck.”
One thing that separates Randy’s Donuts from the competition is that they use hand-cranked dough, and all are handmade.
Based in Inglewood and with ten California locations, Randy’s Donuts is the most recognized donut shop in the world.
Randy’s Donuts attracts visitors from around the world to take pictures of the giant rooftop donut.
Randy’s Donuts has consistently been named one of the top donut shops in the country for nearly 60 years and the most-reviewed and highest-rated donut shop on Yelp and similar websites.
