Randy’s Donuts brings iconic doughnuts to El Segundo

“We like to say you come to see the doughnut and come to take your picture, but you come back because of the doughnuts,” said owner/CEO Mark Kelegian said. The Apollo Landing giant doughnut will be 8-foot-tall.

The local chain is expanding quickly. Last year, they opened a kiosk opened at the Westfield Century City shopping center. The El Segundo store will be followed one on Hollywood Boulevard, next to the Chinese Theater in November, and then Downey, Torrance, Culver City, downtown Los Angeles and spots in Orange County, according to Kelegian.

Kelegian said he is also considering sites in Las Vegas and New York. And, the Mall of America in Minnesota is calling him every day, he said. Franchising is expected to start in September and a store in Manila will kick-off international franchise operations next year.

“When I came in I didn’t change a single recipe, didn’t change a single baker, everything exactly the same way,” said Kelegian, who purchased the Inglewood business in 2015.

“What makes us different from everyone else, especially the larger chains, is we make everything by hand, every single doughnut,” he said. “We like to consider them snowflakes, they’re all going to be a little different from each other.”

In El Segundo, around 60 of their fresh made doughnuts will be available, including its best-selling glazed doughnut. The store will also be the testing ground for a new doughnut sandwich, which Kelegian calls a “little slice of heaven.” The sandwich has maple pepper bacon or sausage, cage free eggs, hashbrowns and American cheese. There’s also the option of a sandwich with “double everything.”

“Everything is going to be made fresh daily,” said Kelegian, echoing the selling point for Randy’s iconic treats.

Randy’s was first founded in 1953 at 805 W. Manchester Blvd., less than six miles from the El Segundo location.

The original chain was named the Big Donut Drive-In, but the Manchester location, when purchased by Robert Eskow, was renamed Randy’s Donuts and Sandwiches after his son.

With its 30-plus foot tall doughnut, Randy’s has become an icon in L.A. thanks to appearances in film (“Get Short,” “Iron Man 2”), television (“Arrested Development,” “Entourage,”) and music videos (Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.”). Larry and Ron Weintraub, cousins of Eskow, purchased Randy’s in 1978 and kept the name. When they retired in 2015, they sold the business to Kelegian.

“They were in their late 70s and they worked their butts off every day, seven days a week for 40 years,” said Kelegian, adding the brothers will be at the opening. “ I vowed to them when I purchased it, I would continue the same traditions that Randy’s is known for.”

At its peak, Randy’s in Inglewood, which is 750 square feet, sells 10,000 doughnuts a day. They will be unable to make sandwiches at that small of location. At the Hollywood location they “will be lucky if we can pour coffee” because of its tiny size, but the doughnuts will be coming fresh from the Inglewood location.

Randy’s will be busy in the community, hosting two El Segundo Education Foundation events before the opening. They are also involved in veterans and homelessness charities.

“We want to be part of the local community,” Kelegian said.

There is indoor and outdoor seating. The interior will be covered with historic images of Randy’s and what it has meant to Los Angeles in its long history.

“When you walk into a store, we want to take you back to the original store… that’s our tradition, that’s our heritage,” Kelegian said.

Randy’s in El Segundo will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Adjacent eateries at Apollo Landing in El Segundo include Shake Shack, Philz Coffee, Tender Greens and the soon to be open Calo Kitchen + Tequila and Pier 76 Fish Grill.