• A 20-year-old Oakland man has been arrested in connection with a series of armed robberies at doughnut shops in Oakland and San Leandro. The hold-ups occurred at six different locations between December 30 and January 16, and the suspect did not act alone, police say. [Bay Area News Group]
• Bodycam footage has been released in a January 21 shootout in San Jose in which police fatally shot carjacking suspect Mohamed Husien. [KTVU]
• Longtime Bay Area meteorologist Spencer Christian, of ABC 7, revealed Sunday that the reason for his extended absence from the evening broadcast is that he underwent heart surgery last month and is recovering. [Facebook]

National:

• Iran escalated its retaliatory strikes in recent hours, striking more targets in the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon, and hitting the US Embassy in Riyadh. [New York Times]
• Global travel has been wildly disrupted due to the war with Iran, after Iran's retaliatory strikes hit airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha — all three of which are major global airline hubs. [CNN]
• A new CNN poll finds that 59% of Americans disapprove of the attacks on Iran.

Video:

• Disney-Pixar's spring release, Hoppers, in theaters Friday, is an allegory about environmental protections and animal activism, involving a girl who gets to inhabit the body of a beaver — and as the Chronicle notes, the fight over the construction of a freeway that will save commuters four minutes of drive time feels rather analagous to the Great Highway debate.

Photo by Elisheva G

Hims & Hers Health, the SF-based telehealth startup founded by Andrew Dudum, just kicked $1 million to Donald Trump's inauguration fund, perhaps because they're concerned about the administration's future plans when it comes to mail-order drugs.

Much like the CEOs of Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon all showed up to kiss the ring at Trump's second inauguration, after giving considerable sums to help get Trump get elected, Hims & Hers Health and its CEO Andrew Dudum have a stake in the new administration's views toward their business.

A so-called digital health startup, Hims & Hers emerged in 2016, first focused on easy access to erectile dysfunction drugs for men, but soon expanding into the worlds of hair loss for women and men, anxiety medications, and now the weight-loss medications known as GLP-1s. As CNBC reported, Hims & Hers became a breakout star in the digital healthcare space in 2024, in a year when similar companies like GoodRx and Teladoc were taking a beating following the highs of mid-pandemic demand.

Thus, as Axios first reported, Hims & Hers wants a leg up with the new administration, with the looming possibility that RFK Jr., who generally is skeptical of medications and vaccines, could launch some sort of crackdown or regulations that negatively impact the digital health space. As CNBC notes, RFK has already said in a recent interview that while GLPs may "have a place" in the system, the "first line of response" to obesity should be lifestyle changes.

Dudum and his company donated $1 million earlier this month to the Trump inauguration fund, a donation which likely guaranteed them some sort of dinner or sit-down with Trump and JD Vance during the inauguration celebrations. (Update: Indeed, Dudum tweeted a photo from an inauguration event showing Hims & Hers COO Melissa Baird posing with RFK Jr., with the caption, "Our shared commitment with @POTUS, @RobertKennedyJr, and other leaders to address the US obesity epidemic will help millions of Americans with the chronic conditions too many are struggling with. Let’s start addressing the root causes of conditions like obesity and put the power back in the hands of the individual patient.")

Hims & Hers offered only this statement: "At Hims & Hers, we stand with leaders and advocates who are committed to improving America's broken healthcare system. For far too long, this system has forced Americans to struggle — financially and with limited access — to get essential medications and the care they need, especially for stigmatized conditions."

As first noted in the Found SF newsletter, Dudum and his wife Lea Dudum are the backers behind George's Donuts & Merriment, the swanky new doughnut shop, cafe, and wine bar that just opened two weeks ago in West Portal. The chef-partner and doughnut maestro is Spruce and Bacchus Group pastry veteran, Janina O’Leary. And the namesake of the place is George Cawog, Andrew Dudum's Palestinian grandfather, who ran a launderette in Oakland for many years and liked to take his grandchildren next door for doughnuts.

Correction: An earlier version of this article suggested that Dudum had personally given the donation to Trump's inaugural committee. A representative for Dudum clarifies, "Andrew Dudum never donated to the Trump inauguration. A donation was made by [Hims & Hers], a public company, but it did not come from Andrew Dudum."

Related: It's the Biden Administration's Fault That Big Tech Embraced Trump, Says Marc Andreessen

In a sweet freebie to help encourage doughnut lovers to go get vaccinated, Krispy Kreme is offering a free doughnut if you walk in and show your vaccination card. But it's not just the one doughnut the one time.

Krispy Kreme is saying that you can get a free original glazed doughnut every day for the rest of the year just by showing that vaccination card. This could get them in some trouble if people take too much advantage — and it could get the doughnut-obsessed into trouble, too, especially if they are equally motivated by free stuff. But the 84-year-old doughnut company says it wants everybody to do their part in the vaccination effort, and make us all safer by getting theirs.

"We'd like to show sweet support to those who have received the COVID-19 Vaccine," the company says in a tweet published Monday, adding that the promotion runs through the end of 2021.

"We all want to get COVID-19 behind us as fast as possible and we want to support everyone doing their part to make the country safe by getting vaccinated as soon as the vaccine is available to them," said Krispy Kreme chief marketing officer Dave Skena in a release.

The company isn't stopping there with the freebies either — anyone, regardless of vaccination status, can go to a Krispy Kreme on any Monday between March 29 and May 24 to get a free doughnut and free coffee.

Sadly, San Francisco's only Krispy Kreme shop near Fisherman's Wharf closed permanently a few weeks ago. But there's still one in Daly City with a 24-hour drive-thru! There are also Krispy Kremes in Mountain View, Santa Clara, Fremont, Union City, San Jose, Concord, and Rohnert Park, FYI.

Krispy Kreme says that in the coming weeks it will be sending free doughnuts to healthcare workers and volunteers at vaccination sites nationwide. And the company is giving all its employees four hours of paid time off to get their vaccines.

All you need is to have gotten at least one of the two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and show your card at a U.S. store to redeem the offer.

The much anticipated NoPa location of Bob's Donuts is finally set to open in the former Chili Pies space at the corner of Baker and Fulton, and opening day is Thursday, November 14.

We learned of the second location — the beloved doughnut shop's first expansion in its 60-year existence — back in June, and now owner Aya Ahn has confirmed the opening date with Hoodline. The popular, 24-hour Polk Street operation will remain right where it is, and open 24 hours, while Bob's on Baker will have more limited hours (7 a.m. to 11 p.m.) due to neighborhood restrictions.

But apart from the hours, the new Bob's will feature all the deep-fried amazingness of the stalwart original, now catering to a quieter residential area not so packed with bars. And unlike a lot of SF doughnut shops, Bob's makes all its doughnuts fresh all day long, on the premises. Go-tos include the excellent old-fashioneds, traditional glazed, and the gargantuan apple fritters.

Aya Ahn is the daughter of longtime owner Elinor Ahn, who bought the place from the original Bob of the name back in 1977 (the place appears to have opened as Bob's around 1959). As Aya's daughter Rachel told the Chronicle back in 2016, when customers ask who Bob is, the family now says, "We are all Bob."

Previously: Beloved Bob's Donuts To Open Second Location In NoPa

Probably San Francisco's best doughnut shop, Bob's Donuts, is expanding for the first time in it 50+ years, opening a second location at Fulton and Baker streets.

The doughnut operation known for its divine glazed and old-fashioned doughnuts, not to mention its apple fritters, is moving into the space vacated by Chili Pies Baking Co. at 601 Baker Street. And it looks like the name will be Bob's On Baker.

Unlike most similar shops, Bob's operates 24 hours a day on Polk Street, and has for decades. As Eater reports, it's not yet known if the new location will try to do the same thing — odds are no, given the sleepier locale of Baker Street. But this is nonetheless fantastic news for lovers of good doughnuts who also hate going to upper Polk Street.

Opened in 1959 by a man named Bob about whom little has been recorded, Bob's gained notoriety under the ownership of Elinor Ahn, the longtime proprietor of the shop whose family bought the business from Bob in 1977. Ahn passed away in 2001, but she and her doughnut shop are immortalized in a 2003 song by Sun Kil Moon, a.k.a. longtime San Francisco lover Mark Kozelek. In the second verse of his song "Glenn Tipton," he sings, "I knew an old woman who ran a doughnut shop/ she worked late servin' cops./ Then one morning baby her heart stopped. / Place ain't the same no more / The place ain't the same no more,/ not without my friend, Elinor."

Bob's is now run by Elinor's daughter, Aya Ahn, and her son-in-law, and their twentysomething children. As Rachel Ahn, who grew up in the shop, told the Chronicle in 2016, "People ask who Bob is, and we tell them we’re all Bob."

Look for Bob's on Baker to open soon — though the exact date is still TBA.

You've waited all year long and it's finally here: Happy National Doughnut Day! In celebration of this totally necessary holiday, we've got a rundown of all the places around the Bay Area you can score a free doughnut today.

Because everyone likes free things, and doughnuts.

Krispy Kreme

Dunkin' Donuts (with purchase of any beverage. Sigh.)

Tratto (inside The Marker hotel)

Safeway is selling a dozen doughnuts for $5 (which is a deal, apparently)

Consumerist has their own list of spots offering a free doughnut today, but these seem pretty far afield - even for free carbs.

According to SFGate, National Doughnut Day was founded in 1938 by the Salvation Army in remembrance of the volunteers who served doughnuts to the World War I soldiers fighting on the front lines. Eat doughnuts for the veterans!

Happy National Donut Day! Tonight on Dine and Dish @kron4news https://t.co/2k88QhcmGx

— Vicki Liviakis (@KRON4VLiviakis) June 2, 2017

And finally, this woman's reaction to the Trump doughnut:

Related: The 11 Best Destination Doughnut Spots Around The Bay Area

After seven years in business in Oakland and just a few months in San Francisco, popular filled-doughnut enterprise Doughnut Dolly is calling it quits. Founder and pastry chef Hannah Hoffman made the surprising announcement via social media this morning, calling the move a "great loss."

The announcement comes a little over a week after Hoffman announced the closure of the three-year-old Berkeley location due to a rent dispute, in the Gilman district. She told Berkeleyside that employees there would move to the other locations and the transition would be "seamless."

It seems that may just have been a symptom of larger problems, and SFist has reached out to Hoffman for further comment. She said on Facebook, "I am feeling tremendous sadness and loss" making the announcement, and "I did everything I could to keep the dream alive. My feelings are both sad, and hopeful."

In the fall, Hoffman was working to open a doughnut stall at The Market on Market, the food hall in the base of the Twitter building in SF, and the process was somewhat delayed by construction issues. The stall finally opened in November, following two months of pop-ups there, and it included Doughnut Dolly's first foray into savory doughnuts (kind of like sweet pork buns).

Hoffman became known for her filled-to-order Naughty Cream and jelly doughnuts, and the business began with mobile, pop-up operation that then became a brick-and-mortar in North Oakland's Temescal District in 2010.

Hoffman's doughnuts were featured on SFist's best destination doughnuts list in October, but now they may only exist in our memories.

Related: The 11 Best Destination Doughnut Spots Around The Bay Area

Does Dunkin’ Donuts serve the best doughnuts you'll ever consume? Of course not — for that, I'll refer you to our "Where To Get A Good Doughnut In SF" list and, for those headed out of town, our "The 11 Best Destination Doughnut Spots Around The Bay Area" rankings. But for many, the company's confections and coffee scratch that same comfort foods slash nostalgia itch that, say, Nation's or Little Caesars does. That's likely why news in 2014 that the chain would be (re) expanding* into the Bay Area was met with excitement by many, and why I'll likely be making a pilgrimage to South San Francisco next month to visit the DD's newest NorCal location.

At 5 a.m. on February 1, the company informs us via press release, we'll see a DD open at 180 South Airport Boulevard, in that tangled mess of SSF streets just east of 101 near SFO. This location will be the closest one to San Francisco thus far, as one opened in Walnut Creek in June and a second opened in Half Moon Bay in August. And as "the company has plans to open 24 more Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in Alameda and San Mateo counties over the next several years," they say, this might be our nearest option for quite some time.

As with the other openings, there will be considerable pomp and circumstance: Per the press release, visitors on Feb 1 can expect "food and beverage samples, special giveaways to the first 100 people in line, a $250 gift card to the first person in line and an appearance by Dunkin' Donuts mascot Cuppy," whom I find more than slightly terrifying.

According to DD, the new store is owned by the same franchisee who operated the Half Moon Bay location, California Donut Kings, LLC. Fun fact, per the Merc: At that venue, "the Bavarian Creme has been the top-selling doughnut and the plain bagel with cream cheese the most-often-ordered item from the baked good menu." I cannot in good conscience defend a DD bagel, but agree that the B-Creme is truly an excellent way to fly.

When it opens, the new store (which, they say, will employ 30) will serve customers from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and "will offer free Wi-Fi and modern interior décor." Which sounds perfect for co-working, right? Caleb, and Jay, I'll pick you guys up at 4:30 a.m. on February 2.

*People who've clocked in more than two decades in the Bay Area will recall DD locations on the peninsula and elsewhere back in the day, but all those shuttered in the late 90s/extremely early 00s.

Read all of SFist's doughnut coverage here

Doughnut lovers likely already know where to get the good stuff here in San Francisco — and if you don't, we previously provided lists here and here. Today, for the true doughnut fiends, we bring you a list of road-trip worthy destination spots around the Bay Area, within a couple hours drive of the city, as well as a famous one up in Sacramento. Winter is coming, after all, and you have many months before you have to go on a swimsuit diet again.

Boon Fly Cafe

Most visitors to Napa are usually focused on wine, but those in the know take a break from winery hopping to visit Boon Fly Café for a little doughnut break. A mini-doughnut break, to be precise. The menu calls them "world famous," and those who have sampled them agree (one patron went so far as to explain that they tasted so good that she forgot she was in a big red barn). They go down fast, especially with the optional chocolate dipping sauce, so definitely order more than you think you should. Try the bucket of six (seriously). And hey, Boon Fly made Grub Street's Top 101 doughnuts in the nation in 2014 — so you know it's worth the trek. — Jack Morse
4048 Sonoma Highway, at Los Carneros Avenue, Napa

Bouchon Bakery

Thomas Keller's iconic French Laundry dessert, "Coffee and Doughnuts," serves as the inspiration for their sister bakery's weekend doughnut offerings, which are well known among Napa locals and tourists and tend to sell out early. Available only on Saturday and Sunday mornings you'll find fresh cinnamon doughnuts as well as a seasonal doughnut like the blueberry jelly shown above. These are pricey doughnuts ($3.50-$3.75 apiece), and you will probably have to stand in a line and risk not getting any, but such is life in Yountville. — Jay Barmann
6528 Washington Street, Yountville

Photo: Briana V./Yelp

Donut King
An old-school shop well known to Contra Costa County denizens is Donut King in Pleasant Hill, a strip-mall spot with a very loyal following and 4.5 stars on Yelp. Specialties here include the jelly and chocolate-covered buttermilk cake doughnut, but you're probably not going to be disappointed with anything fresh at this well kept, friendly spot. — Jay Barmann
1607 Contra Costa Boulevard, Pleasant Hill

Photo: Facebook

Donut Wheel
Livermore's much loved, 24-hour doughnut shop, the Donut Wheel, has kept up the tradition of perfect glazed doughnuts since the mid 1960's, but they also keep up with new-fangled doughnut trends with things like their red velvet cake doughnut (pictured), cronuts, and a bacon-and-egg breakfast sandwich served on an open-faced glazed doughnut. (They also do shaved ice called Snow Miracle which one Yelper says "comes out with consistency like cotton candy.") The place is long overdo for a remodel, but as with many outer Bay Area spots of this era, retains some kitschy charm untouched by bland contemporary design trends. — Jay Barmann
2017 First Street, Livermore

Doughnut Dolly via Facebook

Doughnut Dolly
To the long list of reasons to plan a dining adventure around the East Bay add Hannah Hoffman's filled doughnut confections. Hoffman's mother was a Chez Panisse pastry chef and a love of sweets and the skills to perfect them rubbed off on her. Fans are besotted with her "naughty cream" filling — creme fraiche and vanilla bean — and in addition to her Oakland and Berkeley home bases Hoffman has opened a pop-up Doughnut Dolly's in The Market on Market, where she'll soon be a mainstay. —Caleb Pershan
482 B 49th Street Oakland and 1313 9th Street, No. 120 Berkeley

Photo: Facebook

Dream Fluff Donut Shop

Part doughnut shop, part diner, and part ice cream parlor, this Elmwood neighborhood staple near the Berkeley-Oakland border has been run by Cambodian immigrant Alex Sieu and his family since 1987 — though the shop has been around since the 1930's. Sieu and his shop was recently profiled in the Chronicle, and specialties here are melty glazed doughnuts, and fine, not greasy old-fashioneds. — Jay Barmann
2637 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley

Flakey Cream Do-Nuts & Coffee Shop via Yelp

Flakey Cream Do-Nuts
Healdsburg's Flakey Cream Do-Nuts & Coffee Shop is diner doughnut perfection. You won't find any of those city doughnuts like bourbon or green tea here, just glaze and sprinkles etc. etc. Flakey Cream serves breakfast and lunch, but hey, isn't that what donuts are? —Caleb Pershan
41 Center Street, Healdsburg

Photo: Facebook

Johnny Doughnuts
We got the good news this year that popular, four-year-old Johnny Doughnuts, which started as a truck operation and now has a store in San Rafael, is opening a San Francisco spot later this year at 388 Fulton in Hayes Valley. Until then, you can trek to San Rafael to try out their hearty Bismarcks, fritters, and "crodoughs," which is their take on the trademarked cronut. — Jay Barmann
1617 4th Street, San Rafael

Photo via Yelp.

Maple Leaf Donuts
When looking for a traditional doughnut in the South Bay world of Psycho Donuts, Maple Leaf Donuts delivers. Think classic style and flavors all served up for less than a dollar each (the apple fritter is a bit more, but we can forgive that). This mom-and-pop shop has legions of fans in San Jose whose only complaint seems to be that the donuts will frequently sell out before 10:00 a.m. — and with good reason. Those seeking to avoid fancy, new-school doughnuts revel in the more traditional pastry fare. Also, if you buy a dozen the owners will typically throw free doughnut holes in the box. — Jack Morse
1110 Saratoga Avenue, Between Piper and Mitzi Drive, San Jose

Photo via Yelp.

Marie’s Donuts
With apple fritters that would make even Shaq's hands look small, Marie's Donuts is a must for anyone serious about getting their doughnut on. Also, you can get whipped cream on your doughnut, so that's just awesome. Their custard-filled doughnuts and square apple fritter (smaller than the giant one) are the main draws, but the crullers are no slouch. Marie's falls into the more traditional brand of doughnut experience, so don't expect to find overpriced bacon-topped whatever. Instead, when you're craving the platonic ideal of a donut (remember back to what your grandparents used to get you), head to Marie's. — Jack Morse
2950 Freeport Boulevard at Vallejo Way, Sacramento

Andrea C. via Yelp

Psycho Doughnuts
For those moments when you can't decide between a Rice Krispie Treat and a doughnut, Psycho Doughnuts has got you covered, you twisted animal. The raving lunatics behind this shop call it "the world's first and only asylum for wayward donuts," so take a look inside their ward — or pastry case, I guess — and you'll find all the usual suspects. Those, of course, include the Dead Elvis, the Cereal Killer, and the dreaded Cinnamon troll. For those who are truly unhinged, there are (gasp!) vegan options. With its locations in San Jose, Santa Clara, and Campbell, Psycho has donated over 100,000 doughnuts to causes such as the Downtown Streets Team, which encourages homeless volunteers to clean up streets and distribute supplies in exchange for vouchers. Eat up — but be careful: These doughnuts could literally kill you. —Caleb Pershan
288 South Second Street (inside the Camera 3 Theater) in San Jose, 2006 S Winchester Boulevard in Campbell, and 2000 El Camino Real in Santa Clara

Honorable Mention: Dunkin' Donuts, which is a special and nostalgic treat for all you East Coast transplants, and which recently opened new locations in Walnut Creek and Half Moon Bay — with SF locations on the way.

Excellent news, doughnut fans!! Now that summer's just about over and you can stop dieting for that beach vacation, you can treat yourself this week and next to a delicious filled doughnut the likes of which only the East Bay has known the last couple of years. Yes, as foretold back in March, Temescal's Doughnut Dolly is set to open inside The Market, within Market Square (a.k.a. The Twitter Building) this month, and owner Hannah Hoffman will be doing a couple of pop-up previews starting this Friday, September 9.

And new to the SF location — which is actually Hoffman's third after opening a second one in Berkeley in 2014 — will be savory doughnuts, the first of which: a pulled pork doughnut. Per Hoffman's description of several months ago, "Imagine a bao, but in a doughnut and filled with pulled pork and pickled onions." Yum!

Also available will be Doughnut Dolly's signature filled doughnuts with Naughty Cream, and with seasonal jam.

The news just arrived in my inbox via a release, and the doughnut-obsessed can get firsties on these East Bay delicacies on Friday, as well as on Tuesday, September 13, and Thursday, September 15, from 8 a.m. until they sell out.

Then, in the weeks following, beginning on a date TBA, the permanent Doughnut Dolly stand will open at The Market for your breakfast and lunching pleasure.

Look for it across from Dirty Water inside 1355 Market Street.

Previously: Hello, Doughnut Dolly! These Beauties Are Headed To Mid-Market

An early-morning display of illicit automotive daredevilry took over a South of Market intersection Monday morning, but by the time police arrived the motoring miscreants had fled for parts unknown.

ABC7 points us to this video from Twitter user "hookemdm," reportedly of a sideshow that went down at 1:30 Monday morning:

According to "hookemdm" (aka "Dan The Man"), as many as six vehicles were involved in the sideshow, which reportedly took place at the intersection of First and Folsom Streets.

"hookemdm" tells ABC 7 that "four of the vehicles were blocking Folsom while the other two were doing spinning tricks."

A spokesperson with the San Francisco Police Department confirms that they did indeed receive calls regarding the sideshow, but says that the reckless rascals had fled before they arrived on the scene...and remain free to doughnut another day.

Previously: Police Pepper Spray, Arrest Crowd At Candlestick Park Sideshow

The second Dunkin Donuts in the entire Bay Area opened in the cozy beach town of Half Moon Bay on Monday and for East Coast and Midwest transplants, renewed proximity to their favorite childhood chain is a sprinkle-covered thrill.

I made the 30-mile drive down the coast to witness the second most important opening of a Dunkin' Donuts in the San Francisco metro area and can report that the event was drenched in seaside mist and small-town enthusiasm.

A balloon arch in Dunkies' trademark orange and pink greeted customers of the brand new, jam-packed storefront. A rather grandiose step-and-repeat remained mostly ignored by the crowd, due to either the town's notorious heavy fog or the disappointing lack of paparazzi. The new doughnut shop occupies a former fast-food chicken restaurant, and is attached to a gas station food mart — not your typical step-and-repeat venue, but I digress. Throughout the morning, a gentleman dressed as an iced coffee named "Cuppy" posed with children and "dignitaries" while bemused coffee snobs watched the proceedings from a Peet's Coffee across the parking lot.

According to those in charge, the first 100 guests in line for Monday's 6 a.m. opening were given a bright orange swag bag filled with jelly Dunkin' merchandise and treats. A Bay Area transplant and Dunkin' die-hard from Allentown, Pennsylvania arrived at 9 p.m. the night before to secure his place as the location's first official customer — and recipient of a $100 donut gift card.

At 9 a.m., a fabulously orange-hued woman from the Half Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce excitedly announced to the assembled crowd that it was time for the official ribbon cutting. Members of the City Council and local Boys and Girls Club as well as a handful of well-wishers dutifully gathered in the Dunkin' parking lot to hear remarks from the Mayor and the franchise's new owners. Every few minutes, the small crowd would have to step out of the way to let a drive-thru customer pass.

After a brief discussion of just which set giant scissors would be used to cut the ribbon, the snip was made and Half Moon Bay was (and is) officially in possession of an open and operating Dunkin' Donuts.

"This is one of the rare cases where I didn't hear any discontent from the community," confessed Half Moon Bay Mayor Rick Kowalczyk. "All I heard were positive comments and enthusiasm."

Vishal Shah is a partner with "California Donut Kings" which has exclusive rights to open Dunkin' Donuts in Alameda and San Mateo counties. The second-generation Dunkin' franchisee owns 22 Dunkin' Donuts, mostly in the "Chicagoland" area.

"I was, gosh, nine years old when my dad opened his first Dunkin'" Shah said.

The California Donut Kings chose Half Moon Bay for their first location due in large part to what Shah called "the community feel." "The drive-thru is obviously an important part of our business," explained Shah, before handing off a giant check for $1,000 to the Half Moon Bay Boys and Girls Club.

According to Shah, the most popular doughnut variety is glazed, followed by chocolate, chocolate with sprinkles, and plain. "People get plain so they can dunk it in their coffee," said Shah. "That's where the name comes from. You know, dunking."

The doughnut chain previously had a small but significant presence in California, but the company decided to divest itself of the market, closing the few remaining franchises here in the 1990's. There are currently plans to open 200 locations across the state in the coming years.

Dunkin' devotees take note: the Kings' next openings will be in South San Francisco and Fremont. Half Moon Bay's Dunkin' Donuts is located at 120 San Mateo Avenue along Pacific Coast Highway 1.

Also take note: SF is scheduled to get its own Dunkin' Donuts, according to an earlier report, later this year, though the location has not been made public — and everything in SF gets delayed.

Previously: The Bay's First Dunkin' Donuts (In A Long Time) Opens In Walnut Creek

We learned last winter that the first Dunkin' Donuts to debut in the Bay Area would be out in Walnut Creek, and now that has come to pass. East Coast transplants who want a taste of that signature bland coffee or one of their mediocre doughnuts can rejoice and jet out on Highway 24 to treat themselves this weekend.

Yes, yes, I know. Many people love Dunkies. I grew up on the East Coast, in fact, and had the occasional Boston Kreme — though I don't recommend the jelly. And given how the chain really is everywhere, especially in New England, it was a gathering spot for all kinds of people, from working schmos who saw each other every day grabbing their six a.m. coffee, to teenagers who congregated there after school and smoked cigarettes on the curb. And people say this is this "best cheap coffee in the country," which among fast food chains is probably true, with a small cup ringing in around $1.19.

Dunkin' Donuts did exist in California in earlier decades, and had a Bay Area location or two as of the early 1990s, but the company only had about a dozen locations in the state and decided to fully exit the market by the late '90s, as the LA Times explained. Now, though, they're back with much bigger plans for about 200 locations in the state in the next few years.

The Walnut Creek location at 1250 Newell Avenue had its grand opening this morning at 5 a.m., and locals flocked for fresh doughnuts and the aforementioned coffee, as well as photos opportunities with Cuppy, the mascot I never knew existed for the brand. And as KRON 4 notes, the location will be open until 9 p.m. every night, and it has free wi-fi.

And as ABC 7 reports, as of 8:49 a.m., the place had already sold over five thousand doughnuts.

People in SF who are fans but not super-fans can rest assured that we'll have our own Dunkin' Donuts here in the city come fall — though the exact location of that one has not been announced — and there will be a whopping 24 more Bay Area locations apparently coming within a year.

Previously: Bay Area Gets Its First Dunkin' Donuts... In Walnut Creek

And in more National Doughnut Day news, fans of the Johnny Doughnuts trucks will be happy to learn that the place is about to get a brick-and-mortar shop in the center of San Francisco, in the new 388 Fulton development, and you should get ready for some buzz and general gushing. In their words, Johnny Doughnuts uses "the finest organic cool milled wheat flour and ingredients from locally sourced vendors," and they make the gamut of doughnut styles from cake to raised to old fashioned, as well as Bismarcks, fritters, and their take on the trademarked cronut, the "crodough."

As Inside Scoop reports, owner Craig Blum has already begun construction on the 1900-square-foot space, in the ground floor of the upcoming condo project at the corner of Fulton and Gough, and he's hoping to be open by the end of the year.

This makes two notable doughnut openings due this year, in fact. As we earlier reported, Doughnut Dolly, which got its start in Oakland's Temescal district, is plotting a stand inside the Twitter building, which is due to open any minute now.