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. 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.

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 2003.¹ Comedian Jay Leno once dubbed him “the undisputed doughnut king of the Midwest.” Lamar died on November 10, 2005, at age 89.

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. QSR Magazine — “LaMar’s Donuts Founder Passes Away,” November 14, 2005 — asserts: age 89; first shop in converted Kansas City gas station. ↩