Lamar’s Donuts Returns To Midtown Roots

Forty-five years after the first LaMar’s Donuts was opened on Linwood Boulevard, the company today returned to its roots with a new store at 3395 Main Street, just three blocks away from the original LaMar’s, which closed in 2003, four decades after its founding, due to the founder Ray Lamar’s failing health. A brief opening ceremony at 11 a.m. today also initiated the launch of a new look and image for the LaMar’s chain now operating in seven states, as well as a national expansion campaign. When the store opened at 5:30 a.m., lines of waiting customers stretched outside the restaurant and donuts were consumed as fast as they could be made. “ We are delighted to bring LaMar’s Donuts back to midtown,” said LaMar’s CEO Anthony Bonelli. “We’re also proud to be part of a larger redevelopment effort, and to play a role in revitalizing the area where our chain began.” When Ray Lamar opened his first store in 1960 on Linwood Boulevard, locals immediately flocked to the homemade donuts. A reputation for freshness and quality quickly amassed into a regional phenomenon and today, LaMar’s Donuts has grown to 27 stores. The newest is the second of four retailers scheduled to open as part of a sweeping project, spearheaded by Kansas City Councilman Jim Glover, to redevelop a 35-acre area in midtown. Sales tax revenue from the new store, as well as from existing Home Depot and Costco stores in the area, will be placed in a housing rehabilitation fund for the surrounding neighborhood.

The latest Kansas City location also showcases a new interior d�cor that will be the standard for other stores. Changes include upgraded signage and a pastel color palette designed to add an updated, modern touch to the bistro setting. The image makeover complements the kick-off of an expansion program aimed at attracting LaMar’s franchisees in new states through carefully targeted advertising and marketing tactics.

“Part of what makes LaMar’s unique is our commitment to integrating our stores into our communities, as a gathering place and as a good corporate citizen,” said Bonelli. Supporting that effort, on September 16, all seven Kansas City LaMar’s stores, along with stores in Denver, will donate a portion of the day’s proceeds to the American Red Cross to assist relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Additionally, the Oxford, Alabama, LaMar’s is serving as a drop-off location for clothing and other supplies.

### About LaMar’s Donuts Founded in 1960 by Ray Lamar, LaMar’s Donuts made its debut in Kansas City. Based on the donut shop's phenomenal success and widespread reputation, franchises began selling in the early 1990s for bistro-style donut stores. LaMar’s now has 24 locations in seven states: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Tennessee. LaMar’s donuts have been recommended by Zagat’s Survey, the New Yorker and Gourmet Magazine, and have been chosen as best donut by newspapers nationwide. Additional information can be found at www.lamars.com.

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