Vernon Carver Rudolph (June 30, 1915, Marshall County, Kentucky - August 16, 1973) was the founder of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.
Vernon was the oldest of two boys born to Plumie and Rethie Rudolph. As he grew older, he began to help in the general store that his father owned. When he graduated high school, he went to Paducah, Kentucky with his uncle. In 1933, Rudolph's uncle bought a doughnut shop and recipe for yeast-raised donuts from a French federal employee named, Joe La-beau. This all occurred during the middle of the great depression, so they moved to Nashville, Tennessee to see if they could get better business there and secure their financial future.
Things did not work out for them in Nashville, so they moved back to Kentucky where Rudolph's uncle sold his business. Early in the summer of 1937, Rudolph moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, rented a building across from Salem College and Academy, and on July 13 1937, using that original recipe. Rudolph's first customers were local grocery stores, but people began to stop by the store asking if they could buy hot doughnuts.