Financing

How Shipley Do-Nuts is bringing its brand into the future

A Deeper Dive: Flynn Dekker, CEO of the donut and kolache chain, joins the podcast to talk about how to get an 87-year-old concept ready for growth.

This episode of A Deeper Dive is brought to you by Zero Hour Health.

zero hour health

How do you get an 87-year-old brand ready for expansion?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Flynn Dekker, the CEO of the 352-unit donut and kolache chain Shipley Do-Nuts.

Shipley is an institution in its hometown of Houston, something Dekker discovered after he took over as CEO last year.

But it is also an old brand. It’s been around for nearly 90 years. The longtime family-owned chain was sold to Peak Rock Capital in 2021 and since then has taken numerous steps to change operations and processes to bring it into a more modern age.

We talk about all of that on the podcast, including the company’s efforts on marketing and what that's doing to the brand, along with processes, franchising and technology. We also talk about kolaches and what that does for the brand’s business.

It’s a fascinating conversation with an interesting brand, so check it out.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Struggling I Heart Mac and Cheese franchisees push back against their franchisor

Operators say most of them aren't making money and want a break on their royalties. But they also complain about receiving expired cheese from closed stores. "Don't send us moldy product."

Financing

In California, jobs are up, but traffic is down

The Bottom Line: Limited-service restaurants have not cut jobs in California, despite the $20 fast-food wage. But that doesn't mean it hasn't had an impact.

Technology

First-party catering emerges as a new frontier for restaurant tech

Tech Check: As catering booms, more tech companies are offering restaurants the tools to do it themselves.

Trending

More from our partners