Valley sprinkled with doughnut shops

Max Jacobson

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2001 | 8:33 a.m.

Doughnut wars are heating up in the valley, now that Lamar's Doughnuts has opened its third store, with plans for yet another on the way. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts remain the most sought-after and talked about brand in town, and there is also Winchell's, a venerable company that is more than 50 years old.

Everyone is competing for their market share, but how good are these doughnuts, really?

Lincoln Spoor is a man on a mission. After years of gentle persuasion, this likeable former investment banker finally convinced the powers that be at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts to award him franchise rights for Southern Nevada, at long last bringing these premium, hot doughnuts to the valley.

Actually, Spoor has been baking most of his life. His father was the CEO at Pillsbury, and he has worked in bakeries since his childhood. Nonetheless, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts represents something really special for him.

"I first tasted a Krispy Kreme donut in 1992, and I have never looked back since," Spoor says. Today Spoor has four "factory stores" in Las Vegas, where doughnuts are produced, and three satellite stores, from which doughnuts are delivered on an hourly basis.

He also has the franchise rights for Utah and Idaho.

These artfully produced doughnuts are not sold in supermarkets, and yet they have already earned a place in our collective hearts. The original glazed is so popular, it is on display in the Smithsonian Institute.

In his South Eastern Avenue store, Spoor demonstrated how the original glazed doughnuts are made. "We use 100-percent vegetable oil," he says as he walks by the wondrous contraption that spits out nearly 240 dozen doughnuts per hour. The original glazed doughnuts are machine extruded, fried in hot soybean oil and finally passed under a glazing machine, which coats them in a shiny sugar glaze.

Spoor isn't eager to reveal the recipe for his secret glaze, which produces a uniform coating on each doughnut.

"If I told you," he says with a smile, "I'd have to kill you."

He does say that an original glazed has around 170 calories, and 9 grams of fat.

The best time to visit a Krispy Kreme store is any time between 5-11 a.m., and 5-11 p.m., when the "Hot Donuts Now" light is on. The original glazed isn't all the stores make, though. In fact, he recently was checking the size and color of his pumpkin spice doughnut, a fall specialty.

"When the donuts don't look just right," he says, "we donate them to homeless shelters."

There are many delicious varieties, other than the original glazed, including filled doughnuts, crullers and a selection of cake doughnuts, including glazed sour cream and glazed devil's food. The original glazed is 60 cents for one, $5.49 for a dozen. Other varieties are 70 cents for one, $5.99 for a dozen.

Lamar's

The slogan at Lamar's, which was started in Kansas City, Mo., by Ray Lamar, is "simply a better donut." The chain has just opened a store at 3620 E. Flamingo Road, and plans are already afoot to open another at 2001 N. Rainbow Blvd., according to one of the chain's vice presidents, Adam Huisman.

Huisman admits to oweing Krispy Kreme a debt of gratitude for the newfound popularity of doughnuts in the Vegas market.

"First it was bagels, and now it is doughnuts," he says, and there is no doubt in his mind that the competition has revved up local interest in the doughnut.

Huisman also had enlightening things to say about his product. First off, donuts swell up mightily during the frying process. Lamar's massive apple fritters are approximately 6 ounces before frying; a whopping 10 after. Lamar's doughnuts are all hand-pressed; there is no large machine cranking out the doughnuts. The chain again uses pure soybean oil, which Huisman insists is the best for frying.

This is a bigger doughnut than offered at Krispy Kreme, and slightly higher in price. Doughnuts at Lamar's are 75 cents for one; specialty doughnuts are $1.20 apiece, and the large-format doughnuts, such as mammoth cinnamon rolls and apple fritters, are $2 each. How do they compare in taste to a Krispy Kreme doughnut? Well, as to the original glazed, particularly if you get one hot, no contest. Krispy Kreme wins hands down with its ethereal, melt-in-the-mouth puff that is the stuff of which dreams are made.

But when it comes to cake doughnuts, Lamar's does well. Lemon, devil's food and pumpkin-banana are all delicious, and the variety of flavor is quite impressive. Lamar's makes up to 40 different varieties of doughnuts, although only around 20 on any one given day. It's also important to note that there are no preservatives of any kind in a Lamar's doughnut, therefore the shelf life is extremely short. But this is quite a good product.

Winchell's

We shouldn't leave out Winchell's Donut Houses, which has more than a dozen stores in the Las Vegas Valley. This company was founded in Temple City, Calif., by Verne Winchell, who lives in Las Vegas. The chain remains very popular, and it is still the leading doughnut franchise in California.

Winchell's uses the slogan, "home of the warm, fresh donut," but you'd better come early in the morning if you want that to be true. These are heavy donuts, because they are fried in shortening, and not quite as appealing as doughnuts from Krispy Kreme or Lamar's.

Doughnuts at Winchell's are 65 cents for raised or cake donuts, 99 cents for the fancier ones, such as bars, cinnamon rolls or apple fritters. Some of the good doughnuts here include sour cream cake doughnuts, lemon-filled raised doughnuts and maple frosted bars.

No matter how you extrude it, it appears that Las Vegas is undergoing a doughnuts renaissance, so fill that thermos and get in line.