Voodoo Doughnut

Voodoo Doughnut is an American doughnut company established in 2003 in Portland, Oregon with various chain store locations around the United States.

History

Voodoo Doughnut was founded in May 2003 by Kenneth "Cat Daddy" Pogson and Richard "Tres" Shannon,[1] with the first shop that opened on Southwest Third Avenue in Old Town Portland.[2][3]

The company logo was designed to include a depiction of Baron Samedi, a figure from Haitian Vodou.[2][4] The use of pink boxes by the company and the slogan "Good things come in pink boxes" began after Pogson traveled to California and observed the use of pink boxes for doughnuts.[5][6]

Until 2006, the business was only open at night.[3] In 2007, the shop was featured in an episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.[7]

In 2008, Pogson and Shannon opened Voodoo Doughnut Too on Northeast Davis Street in Portland.[8] A parade was held that traveled from the original location to the new one.[9][10] Voodoo Doughnut Tres opened in Eugene, Oregon in 2010.[2]

On December 24, 2008, Voodoo Doughnut's Portland Crème doughnut was designated Portland's "Official City Doughnut" by a resolution introduced by Portland Mayor Tom Potter and passed by the City Council.[11][2]

During early 2011, combined sales at the Portland locations were estimated to have been about twenty tons of doughnuts per week in the summer. In spring 2011, the original shop was remodeled to add space from an adjacent building, mostly to expand the kitchen.[12] By 2011, the two Portland shops and the shop in Eugene were open 24 hours a day.[13] The Portland shops were also hosting legal weddings and commitment ceremonies.[13]

In August 2011, Voodoo Doughnut staff constructed a large version of its box at the Portland Bridge Festival, and filled it with doughnuts until it weighed 666 lb, a number chosen to fit what Shannon described as the company's "voodoo theme,"[14][15] which became a Guinness World Record for the largest box of doughnuts.[2]

Shannon, a Voodoo Doughnut shop, and bacon maple doughnuts appeared in Episode 4 of Season 2 of Portlandia, which aired in January 2012.[16][17] In the Portlandia-crossover episode of The Simpsons titled The Day the Earth Stood Cool that aired on December 9, 2012, Voodoo Doughnut is parodied as "Devil Doughnuts."[18]

Between 2011 and 2016, Voodoo Doughnut partnered with Rogue Ales to create bottled beer based on several of its doughnut flavors, that were then distributed across the United States.[19][20][21]

The Portland location has hosted doughnut-eating contests for mayoral candidates,[13] including in 2016.[22][23]

Plans to open a location in the French Quarter of New Orleans were cancelled after it faced resistance from voodoo practitioners and historic preservationists in the summer of 2023. They criticized the company's name and iconography and declared them ethnically and religiously insensitive.[24]

Operations

In 2017, a majority share of Voodoo Doughnut was sold to the private equity firm Fundamental Capital.[25][24][26] Pogson and Shannon retained an ownership interest, and members of Fundamental Capital joined the company board.[26][27]

Chris Schultz, who previously worked as an executive at MOD Pizza and Starbucks, became the CEO in 2018.[28]

By 2023, the company had expanded into a multi-state chain with stores in California, Colorado, Florida, Washington and Texas in addition to multiple locations within Oregon.[29]

Doughnuts

Voodoo Doughnut offers dozens of doughnut varieties, including vegan doughnuts.[43] Two of their past doughnuts, the NyQuil Glazed doughnut and the Vanilla Pepto Crushed Tums doughnut, were no longer available by 2006 due to a warning from local health officials.[13][3]

The "Doughnut of Love" was created for use in wedding ceremonies performed at Portland shop locations, and in 2011 was described by Abby Sewell of the Los Angeles Times as "a terrifying concoction piled high with sprinkles, chocolate chips and pretzel sticks."[13]

Voodoo Doughnut also made the "Tex-Ass,"[44][45] a doughnut weighing about a half-pound, described on the company website as the equivalent of six regular-sized doughnuts, that until 2017 was advertised with a challenge to consume it within 80 seconds.[46][47][48] The challenge prize was a commemorative pin and not having to pay for the doughnut.[49] In April 2017, an eating contest participant choked and died in the Denver Voodoo Doughnut lobby.[50][48][51] The eating challenge was suspended following this incident.[46][52][49]

Limited edition doughnuts have also been made, including as tributes to public figures, some for sale and others for display in the shop.[22][53] Specialty doughnuts are sometimes connected to donations made by the company to nonprofit organizations, with a portion of sales proceeds from certain doughnuts donated to an organization.[54]

Voodoo Doughnut Recordings

In 2014, Shannon and Pogson began the record label Voodoo Doughnut Recordings.[58][59] According to Shannon, the general idea was to produce doughnut-related music, and "it's an extension of advertising the brand in a way we all enjoy, with music and vinyl."[60] Early novelty acts included The Deep Fried Boogie Band and The Doughnut Boys.[61] The label expanded operations to include remastered versions of recordings made by Shannon in the early 1990s while he was an owner of the X-Ray Cafe in Portland.[4][62][63] In 2018, Shannon said record label operations were slowing down.[4]

See also

• Michael King (graphic designer), Voodoo Doughnut logo
• List of doughnut shops

External links

• Voodoo Doughnut website
• In Pursuit of a Trans-Fat-Free Doughnut (Day to Day, March 19, 2007) from the National Public Radio website