Ray Lamar

Ray Lamar (May 7, 1916 – November 10, 2005) was a Kansas City baker who founded LaMar’s Donuts in 1960, turning a single Linwood Boulevard shop into a beloved local institution and, eventually, a national franchise — earning him a reputation as the “doughnut king of the Midwest.”

Biography

Born in Kansas City, Missouri on May 7, 1916, Lamar began in the trade at age 17 as a fryer at the Jack Frost Do-nut Shop, earning $12 a week.¹ After serving in World War II he became a partner in the shop, then struck out on his own, opening LaMar’s Donuts in a converted Linwood Boulevard gas station in 1960.¹²

LaMar’s oversized cake doughnuts built a devoted Kansas City following; the brand began franchising in the early 1990s, and Lamar sold his interest to a Colorado-based company in 1997 before retiring in 2003.³ Comedian Jay Leno once dubbed him “the undisputed doughnut king of the Midwest.”¹ Lamar died on November 10, 2005, at age 89.¹

Legacy

Ray Lamar created one of Kansas City’s signature food brands and a doughnut style synonymous with the city, seeding a national chain that still carries the LaMar’s name.

See also

• lamars-donuts

Sources

Footnotes

1. Ray Lamar obituary, The Kansas City Star / Legacy.com (2005) — born May 7, 1916, Kansas City; began at Jack Frost Do-nut Shop at 17; opened LaMar’s 1960 in a converted Linwood Blvd gas station; died November 10, 2005, age 89; “doughnut king of the Midwest” (Jay Leno). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Kansas City Public Library, KC History — LaMar’s Donuts origins on Linwood Boulevard. ↩

3. “LaMar’s Donuts founder passes away,” QSR Magazine (2005) — early-1990s franchising; 1997 sale of interest to a Colorado company; retired 2003. ↩