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Randy’s Donuts, the Los Angeles icon with the enormous rooftop ring you’ve seen in movies, TV and approximately a thousand Instagram posts, is finally touching down in NYC. The brand’s first East Coast shop opens in early December at 185 Bleecker Street, right on the corner of MacDougal in Greenwich Village, bringing a little West Coast sweetness to a neighborhood more associated with falafel, late-night students and decades of Village grit.
Founded in 1952, Randy’s became famous for the Inglewood flagship crowned by its giant doughnut—a piece of pop architecture that’s basically a billboard in pastry form. The original began as part of Big Donut, a quirky drive-in chain built around spectacle. Ownership shifted over the years (attorney Mark Kelegian took the helm in 2015), but the appeal stayed the same: oversized, fluffy doughnuts made with decades-old recipes and a breezy Angeleno sensibility. The brand now spans Southern California, Las Vegas, Phoenix and a surprising number of international cities, from Seoul to Riyadh, which makes the absence of a New York brand until now that much more surprising.
New York’s outpost will launch with more than 35 varieties, running the gamut from “classic” glazed raised, chocolate raised and sugar raised to “deluxe” old-fashioneds and Long Johns, plus “fancy” cinnamon rolls, jelly-filled numbers and apple fritters. There’s also a “premium” tier starring Texas glazed, Nutella raised and a s’mores raised that feels engineered for finals-week comfort. And yes, Randy’s Rounds—the oversized doughnut holes—are coming too, along with a full lineup of coffee drinks.
The arrival of a California heavyweight comes at a fascinating moment for NYC pastry culture. The city is in the middle of a dessert arms race: Tokyo’s I’m Donut? is drawing Times Square lines; Toronto favorite Cops landed in the West Village; and Portland’s Voodoo Doughnut has a Union Square debut on deck. Meanwhile, bakeries like Papa d’Amour and Ferrane are reshaping neighborhood expectations with high-design pastries and global influences. In short, if you’re going to enter the ring, bring your A-game—and your glaze.
Randy’s is betting that its blend of nostalgia, pop-culture fame and genuinely good doughnuts will hit the spot. New Yorkers pride themselves on fiercely local sweets, but there’s always room for one more contender—especially one with a 73-year résumé and a Hollywood-famous rooftop doughnut. Stay tuned for the exact opening date; until then, consider this your warning to clear some counter space.