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A Tale of 2 Donuts
This is a common site in France whenever they open a new McDonald's. People in Japan don't seem to mind American franchises as much, so I'm not sure what happened here.
As a follow-up to my last article about Japanese retailers, I thought I'd take a look at another big chain store that has always puzzled me. Like many of my fellow gaijin, I'm very fond of the fast food chain Mister Donut. They aren't quite up to par with Krispy Kreme Donuts, but their donuts are still very oishi and full of sugary goodness. One annoyance is that unlike donut shops back home that are normally 24/7, Mister Donut usually closes at 8 or 9, just like most gas stations, ATM's, McDonald's restaurants and just about everything else in Japan.
I don't think I've ever seen a Mister Donut before coming to Japan, though I always felt since coming here like maybe I had seen it somewhere before. Mister Donut is by far the biggest donut franchise in Japan. In fact I'm not sure if there even are any other competitors. The impression that you get when walking into a Mister Donut in Japan is that it's part of some huge American chain, yet I'd never seen a Mister Donut in Canada or the States as far as I can remember. Inside any Mister Donut, you'll see hanging on the wall a picture of this guy:
Harry Winoukur
I always wondered if he was for real, or some Colonel Sanders wannabee character they made up to try to give the chain some much desired American cred. Well I once again did a little research and here's what I dug up...
Mister Donut start out in 1955 in Boston, Massachusetts. A year later the two brothers-in-law that founded it, Bill Rosenberg and Harry Winouker, broke off their partnership, each to begin their own chain of coffee and doughnut shops. Harry founded Mister Donut which grew to 550 shops, while Bill founded Dunkin' Donuts which grew into over 1,800 shops. In 1970 Harry Winouker sold Mister Donut to Minnesota based International Multifoods.
In 1983, Duskin Co. Ltd. of Japan bough the franchising rights for Mister Donut and has since opened over 1000 stores in Japan and hundreds more all over Asia. Duskin still operates the Asian franchises today. They got lots of bad press not too long ago when they were caught selling buns that contained some sort of illegal chemical.
In the 1980's Mister Donut had 558 shops in the United States and Canada and claimed to be number two in the US market after Dunkin'. In 1990 Allied-Lyons plc, which also owns Baskin Robbins, bough both Dunkin Donuts and Mister Donut reuniting them at last. Mister Donut stores were offered the opportunity to convert to Dunkin' Donuts stores if they so wished, and judging from the lack of Mister Donut shops these days back home, most of them must have taken them up on the offer.
So there you have it. Now lets enjoy eating donuts!
26 comments
Good read. I'd always wondered where Mr. Donuts came from and now I have the answer.Mmmm...donuts....
Glad to be of service. Does anyone know if there are any Dunkin Donuts in Japan? i actually worked for Duskin Co. durring the time of that little scandal!! 
Great article! I didn`t know that about Mister Donut. I always thought it was some cheap ripoff and not the same company. Thanks for the interesting read! Looks like my trackback didn't take so well. Anyway, nice article! Thanks for doing the research, so I didn't have to! 
I became a Mister Donut fan in the late 1970s when I visited Baltimore. My buddies and I stopped at the Mister D's on Erdmann Avenue every time we drove up from North Carolina for an Orioles' game. These doughnuts were so much better than the over-fried, over-oiled KK. Our favorites were the toasted coconut and Dutch crumb. For me, these were the among the best things I had ever eaten -- up there with North Carolina hush puppies, chocolate amaretto mousse cake, dosas or caboose. A culinary delight that belied the fast-food environment it was created in. Perhaps this was just this particular Mister D's restaurant because I never found them to be as good at any other Mister D's. Nonetheless, if the Japanese and Taiwanese are getting anything close to the Erdmann Avenue versions, then they are truly lucky. Enjoy! I have been to Japan several times and was amazed how great these donuts are. They are not as greasy as dunkin donuts and also don't put a heavy feeling in your stomach after eating two. Mister Donut is the best donuts I ever had. Crispy Cream is 2nd and Dunkin 3rd in my bok. 
MR. DONUT ROCKS!!! 
I want to send some Japanese friends their favorite Dunkin Donuts coffee beans. IS there a DD in Japan or is the coffee the same from Mister Donut????Please let me know . . . what in the world would it cost to send these 2# of beans around the world!!!
Shelly
Sorry Shelly, but I have no idea. To answer one of your questions at least, no there is no DD in Japan. Only Mis-Do. 
I used to love the Mr. Donut smidgens - little cream puffs with white cream, vanilla or chocolate filling. Do they still sell those? And where are the franchises in Canada? It might be worth the trip. :) 
It has delighted me to no end that Mister Donut still survies in Asia and possibly Canada. You see, my father owned four Mister Donut stores in my hometown in the States. I'm sure he would be saddened to know that it isn't around in the states anymore. As I fondly remember a burnout in school calling me..."donut"..lol 
Its really a miracle that mister donuts survived in Asia, which is a good location for westernised products.... mister donut is alive and well in el salvador!
i wonder if it exists elsewhere in
latin america? maybe some in mexico,
but aside from that?
Looking for any locations in Canada... 
I remember the Mr. Donut near my house in Lincoln Nebr. when I was a kid. I liked the window where you could watch donuts being made. I think the one thing missing from the world due to their absence was the Crispie (I think that's what they called it.It also seemed to be the first donut shop I noticed run by a south-Asian family, Indian or Pakistani I'd guess. Later, while living in Los Angeles it seemed that ALL small donut shops were owned by folks from that region (perhaps spreading out to include immagrants from Vietnam). I find it interesting that this part of American culinary culture became so much a part of a rather limited subset of the USA immagrant story
There is a Mister Doughnut in winter Haven Fl. It is called doughtnut man, same great receipe and taste 
I grew up in the Boston, MA area and remember there being quite a competition between Mr. Donut and Dunkin. There were always a few more DD than MD around, but I particularly liked Mister's angels..chocolate and vanilla angels. MMM. Dunkin's version at the time really didn't compare. By the late 80s it was evident that Dunkin was winning the battle and I had my last Mister Donut around 1990. That is when DD began to explode around Boston and today, there is a DD every street corner. Of course, Bostonians will tell you they only stop in for the coffee and not the high calorie sugary treats! I now live in Ohio, where DD is just now starting to take off here after only one location in Columbus, we now have 5 (3 opened in the last 3 months) with another 10-20 invading the area to drive Tim Horton's back up to Canada (their donuts are good too BTW). The story of how Mister Donut is virtually unknown here in the states by anyone under about 30 and how huge it is in Asia..wow. Anyone else in the biz know of any other cases of a company using a brand name to rebrand in completely different market? If I ever go to Japan, I will have to have a Mister Donut to relive my childhood donut experiences! 
Just returned from a fruitless tour looking for a Mister Donut shop after discovering online that apparently three still exists in various locations around the Toronto area ,,,,,, the results were depressing to say th least,,,,,,, two were renamed MaSTER DONUT (keeping most of the original letters) and one called Westmall Donuts,,,,VERY disapointing to say th least ,,,,,, There was one up in Richmond Hill (suburb of Toronto) in th 70s with a giant lighted sign displaying both name and logo,,,,,,, Now itz just that mediocre giant Tim Hortons and their lousy donuts,,,,,,,,, Thanks fer Mr. D history Would make a great film MaSTER DONUT! That's hilarious. It's sad that you couldn't find Mister Donut.. I know someone who would really like a pon-de-ring if only one could be obtained. Tim Hortons is no substitute. 
My wife and I have always considered Mister Donut to have the best donuts. One of our first dates was discussing physics (yeah, both of us have science backgrounds) over hot cocoa and donuts at a Mister Donut. We actually live near the only remaining Mister Donut in the US (according to Wikipedia). Since Dunkin bought MD, their donuts are pretty-much the same, though, so that's a good thing. They are so much better than those gross Krispy Kreme things and way better than any grocery store or local donut place. Why? They are not as sickening sweet, and (especially) they are not heavy. You can eat three or four MD donuts and not feel like a rock is sitting in your stomach. Long live Mister Donut! 
Mr. Donut was much better than Dunkin Donuts. 
mr. donut needs to come back home to usa, tim hortons will never be a donut shop! 
Is there still a Mister Donuts in Keene, NH? My first MD experience was that one run by a Chinese family in the 80eith. Wonderful products there. Hope it's still there. 
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