The World’s Most Famous Donut is destined for more popularity and store locations headed into the new year. Randy’s Donuts, based in Inglewood, CA known for its iconic 32ft donut landmark near LAX and handmade donuts for 70 years, has announced the recruitment of Dunkin Brand’s former real estate development manager, Jason Askinosie. Askinosie, will build and facilitate Randy’s Donuts franchise strategy and schedules to establish the brand in new markets throughout the United States.
Prior to aligning with Randy’s Donuts, Jason was with Dunkin’ Brands since 2013 where he was awarded recipient of Dunkin Brands’ 2018 Standing Ovation Award and 2018 Development Manager of the year. Askinosie managed the original development strategy of Dunkin’s new market entry into California and Hawaii supporting the growth and transformation of Dunkin’ in each market, and the franchisees’ store rollout, real estate broker and developer relationships.
In 2021, Randy’s Donuts announced the company’s first major franchising milestone signing development deals for 78 domestic stores throughout California and 64 international development deals for France, Morocco, Egypt, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Additionally, the company announced 7 new locations in Central California and 7 company stores in Las Vegas bringing Randy’s Donuts total unit projected count to 165 stores. Randy’s Donuts also received approval for 1 store in LAX Terminal 7 pending the full re-opening of the airport hospitality facilities. Askinosie, along with owner Mark Kelegian, will oversee the timeline and execution of the announced development deals.
“Our 2021 franchise announcement showed the world just how serious we are as a company about bringing the World’s Most Famous Donut to new markets and that we’re one of the fastest growing brands in our category,” says Mark Kelegian. “Adding Jason Askinosie, a seasoned veteran in franchise development, to our team will further help our efforts with focusing on multi-unit operators looking to add a dessert brand to their portfolio.”
“What we’re noticing is that franchise operators are attracted to not only the brand recognition and pop-culture significance of Randy’s Donuts, but the quality of our donuts as an added value as well. Unlike other large donut chains, Randy’s Donuts has made every donut by hand since 1952 using exclusive proprietary ingredients that produce a larger, fluffier donut that stays fresh longer. A world-famous quality donut resonates with franchisees and consumers and that’s a winning combination for success in my experience” says Jason Askinosie.
Randy’s Donuts immediate plans for expansion in 2022 include the opening of its domestic franchise locations in Burbank, Santa Ana, San Diego and Las Vegas. Burbank and Santa Ana location grand opening announcements are scheduled to arrive in the upcoming weeks. The first San Diego location on Murphy Canyon Rd and the first Las Vegas location on Rainbow Blvd are scheduled to open before spring. The company currently owns and operates seven locations throughout Southern California in Inglewood, El Segundo, Torrance, Downey, Pasadena, Santa Monica and Costa Mesa which sold 100,000 donuts in the first ten days of its opening.