{"id":420422,"date":"2026-08-01T03:53:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T03:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/420422\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T03:53:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T03:53:16","slug":"randys-donuts-opens-in-santa-clara-across-from-stans-donuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/420422\/","title":{"rendered":"Randy\u2019s Donuts Opens in Santa Clara, Across From Stan\u2019s Donuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

A hot and fresh battle is cooking in Santa Clara<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

People are calling it doughnut wars. Dueling doughnuts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Randy\u2019s Donuts, the famed doughnut shop started in Inglewood in Southern California and known for its iconic 32-foot doughnut-shaped rooftop sign, has expanded into Northern California, with a grand opening event held for its first Bay Area franchise on Friday in Santa Clara<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mood was celebratory at Randy\u2019s at 2595 Homestead Road, with hundreds of customers lining up in the early morning hours to partake in the festivities, which included some free samples, swag giveaways and music, under the shadow of an inflatable giant doughnut.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Doughnuts are seen in the glass display case at Randy\u2019s Donuts in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

The bright orange shop is offering about 50 varieties of handmade doughnuts, including classic glazed raised, chocolate or maple Long Johns, and other spins such as mango Tajin and matcha tea, while some have toppings like Oreos, Fruity Pebbles, and s\u2019mores.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ausaf Masud, one of three co-owners of the new franchise under a company called Sweet Rings LLC, said his partners hope to open about five total Randy\u2019s locations across the Bay Area in due time, and the opening on Friday was a good start.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe line is across two blocks right now. I think we have 400 people right now waiting in the line,\u201d Masud said. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to see the love.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the location of Randy\u2019s that has caused a yeast-like raising of eyebrows among armies of local doughnut eaters. It\u2019s just across the street from Stan\u2019s Donuts, a Santa Clara staple opened in 1959, still run by the family of the original founder.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Shawn Lemelle and his aunt Sheila Lemelle proudly display their Randy\u2019s Donuts purchase during a grand opening event at the brand\u2019s new location in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"Customers flood the new Randy\u2019s Donuts location in Santa Clara during a grand opening event on July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

The cash-only establishment also makes its doughnuts by hand, many of which are formed right in front of a large plate-glass window in view of customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their most popular offering is a raised glazed, along with their rotating selection of buttermilk doughnuts and old-fashioneds. The shop offers counter service for those who have a little time to sit and enjoy a pillowy pastry and a coffee on site.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The shop is regularly bustling, and often has a line that starts along the wall inside and wends its way down the shopping center sidewalk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On this particular Friday, a very popular day for the business typically, owner Julie Clark said the line was four to five times as long as usual.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so heartwarming; it\u2019s overwhelming, actually. And it just makes us so happy as a staff and as a business to see all the regulars, and we\u2019ve seen so many today, as well as new people that we\u2019re getting all the time,\u201d Clark said. \u201cIt\u2019s just been the biggest blessing. We are so fortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Julie Clark, the owner of Stan\u2019s Donuts in Santa Clara, poses for a photo in front of her shop and a long line of customers on July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

Clark said her shop\u2019s menu is a bit smaller on purpose.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re old school. We stick to the classics,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some longtime customers of Stan\u2019s showed up on Friday just to ensure the shop was busy on the day of Randy\u2019s grand opening.\u00a0<\/p>\n

James Stewart lives nearby and said he comes to Stan\u2019s about once a week, and has been a customer for about 40 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just kind of a more mom-and-pop shop. I think Randy\u2019s choosing that location was strategic, so I\u2019m here to support Stan\u2019s,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perhaps no one was more excited than Avery St. Lawrence, who said she loves waking up early, waiting in lines and sweet things.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She just moved to Santa Clara a week ago from Michigan, and plans to attend Santa Clara University<\/a> School of Law soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Friday morning, she waited in two long lines to try both Randy\u2019s and Stan\u2019s for the first time, and did a taste test.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis feels a lot fluffier,\u201d she said outside of Stan\u2019s, holding one of their glazed raised doughnuts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Avery St. Lawrence makes doughnut decisions while ordering at her doughnut order during a grand opening event at Randy\u2019s Donuts in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

One bite later: \u201cThis one is better. This one\u2019s way better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mark Kelegian, the CEO of Randy\u2019s Donuts brand, said the company is not targeting Stan\u2019s or its customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that\u2019s all manufactured. There\u2019s no doughnut war,\u201d he said. \u201cThe fact that there\u2019s a doughnut shop across the street or a block away or two blocks away, there always is\u2026There\u2019s generally enough business for everyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said many people might initially find out about Randy\u2019s because of its giant doughnut sign, which was prominently featured in the Iron Man 2 movie and other media, but they come back for the brand\u2019s sweet treats.<\/p>\n

\"\"A Stan\u2019s Donuts employee forms doughnuts in the front window of the shop during a busy Friday morning in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"Rowena Chu and her son Zachary Bacher eat glazed doughnuts at the counter of crowded Stan\u2019s Donuts in Santa Clara on July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur doughnuts are unique, and we think they\u2019re the best in the world,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some customers on Friday said there is room in their hearts for doughnuts from both operations, and were celebrating the increasing number of purveyors in town.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just doughnuts,\u201d Crystal Camarena, of Sunnyvale, said. \u201cBe happy, eat doughnuts, all the doughnuts.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A hot and fresh battle is cooking in Santa Clara.\u00a0 People are calling it doughnut wars. Dueling doughnuts.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420423,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[88,90,89],"class_list":["post-420422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}