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Saturday, September 19, 2009

Randy's Donuts


No blog on Los Angeles would be complete without a post on Randy's Donuts, located on the northwest corner of Manchester and La Cienega in Inglewood.

You'll have to go elsewhere if you're looking for something healthy or "California cuisine." Randy's serves one thing: donuts.


OK, technically, they also sell coffee and lottery tickets. Stick with the donuts: they are yummy.
How many donut shops have their own website www.randys-donuts.com
?

On the other hand, how many donut shops are this famous? This being Los Angeles, Randy's Donuts has appeared in dozens of films, TV shows, commercials, and videos.
I've been here a few times, including a quick stop with my wife and kids coming back from Home Depot in Inglewood this afternoon. In addition to a picture we, of course, had to get a couple of donuts.


Apparently, there are a couple other similar donut shops in the area (one in Compton and another in Long Beach) but Randy's is blessed by being very visible from the 405 Freeway, making it the most well known and successful.


What's the appeal of Randy's?


It's been around since 1953, and unlike the Century Plaza Hotel, there's no talk of putting in something "better." I mean, how can you improve on Randy's?

Second, it's one of Los Angeles' best examples of mid-century "programmatic architecture." Yes, that's actually a category of architecture, where the where the shape of the building represents the product sold within.

Here's a list of a few others found in the area:
http://www.you-are-here.com/googie.html
I'll try and come up with something profound to write later. Meanwhile, stop by and enjoy a donut the next time you're in the area.

.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah, donuts (or, doughnuts). God's most perfect food. Isn't dunking or dipping a donut into coffee akin to eucharistic practices? The links here are profound and, to some, particularly Canadians, who eat more donuts per capita than anyone else on Earth, spiritual. To paraphrase Franklin, donuts are evidence that God loves us and wants us to eat (occasionally) less-than-healthy but really good tasting foods. Gene
P.S.--That Randy's Donuts big donut is so ridicuously cool. Another reason why the USSR failed and we triumphed: mid-century, American programmatic architecture.

Eating The Road said...

Nice write-up!

I love that place:
http://eatingtheroad.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/randys-donuts/

Anonymous said...

My kids have watched the PBS "Jay Jay the Jet Plane" - it's for 3-5 year olds. But they have an "Andy's" donout in the town. Cute. Little nod to this L.A. institution.