Background
Lewis Rudolph was born on December 6, 1919, in Marshall County, Kentucky. His father, Plumie, operated a general store in Marshall County.
Businessman Vice President of Krispy Kreme
Lewis Rudolph was born on December 6, 1919, in Marshall County, Kentucky. His father, Plumie, operated a general store in Marshall County.
He also helped open the first Krispy Kreme in Nashville, Tennessee. Lewis Rudolph later served as Vice President of Krispy Kreme, while Vernon Rudolph served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. He was one of four children born to Rethie and Plumie Rudolph.
However, the economic downturn during the Great Depression caused financial difficulties for both Plumie Rudolph"s general store and Vernon Rudolph"s doughnut business.
The entire family relocated to Nashville to pursue better financial opportunities. Lewis Rudolph"s father, Plumie, soon purchased Ishmael Armstrong"s doughnut business from him.
Lewis Rudolph dropped out of high school to work at the family doughnut business. He spent days mixing ingredients by hand.
The doughnut shop proved successful and the family was able to expand to new shops in Charleston, West Virginia, and Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1937, Vernon Rudolph established Krispy Kreme doughnuts at a new location in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He had decided to open the first Krispy Kreme in Winston-Salem due to the presence of Camel cigarettes in the city. The chain continued to expand throughout the 1940s.
By the time Krispy Kreme was incorporated as a company in 1947, there were eight shops in the Southeast United States.
Lewis Rudolph became Vice President of Krispy Kreme, while Vernon served as president and Chief Executive Officer. Lewis Rudolph moved back to Nashville from Winston-Salem in 1959 in order to acquire the city"s two Krispy Kreme locations. He continued to work at Krispy Kreme for the next 48 years, until his retirement in 1985.
Rudolph opened two additional Krispy Kreme franchise locations in Nashville during the 1960s - one was located on Thompson Lane, while the other was located on West End Avenue. In 1976, Krispy Kreme merged with Beatrice Foods of Chicago.
By the early 1980s, sales at Krispy Kreme were in decline.
In 1983, Lewis Rudolph, together with other franchisees, organized a buyout of the doughnut company. Lewis Rudolph sold his Krispy Kreme shops to the company in 1983 and retired from the doughnut business in 1985. Lewis Rudolph died in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 28, 2014, at the age of 95.