SPRINGFIELD, IL — It’s a household name around this town. People will stand in line to get donuts by the dozen from any of the five Mel-O-Cream Secret Recipe Donuts shops. And supermarket shoppers throughout the Midwest may not realize it, but they, too, enjoy the quality of Springfield, IL-based Mel-O-Cream Donuts International.
The signature yellow sign lights retail locations throughout Springfield, while the original commercial facility has produced its secret recipe for wholesale customers for nine decades.
In 1932, Kelly Grant Sr. bought the original donut shop for a rumored $500 and with no baking experience. He learned the trade while all six of his kids worked in the bakery through their teen years. Mel-O-Cream began as a retail shop, but after supply chain shortages during World War II, the retail business fell sharply post-war, and the model shifted to wholesale routes for grocery stores and restaurants.
His oldest son, Kelly Grant Jr., joined the family business, and although his father offered to give him half the company and sell him the other half, his work was cut out for him. Grant Sr. was a self-taught baker, and he expected his son to learn the same way.
“He was supposed to teach me how to make donuts, and it became very clear he wasn’t interested in that,” Grant Jr. recalled. “But if you don’t like work, you don’t want to be in the donut business.”
For 65 years, Grant Jr. owned and operated Mel-O-Cream with partner Dave Waltrip as donuts maintained a stronghold in the market, gaining momentum in the franchising trend of the ‘60s and, as the retail business waned, taking center stage during the dawn of in-store bakeries in the ’80s.
“When the in-store bakeries started around Springfield, there really wasn’t anyone supplying a high-quality product,” Grant Jr. said. “We went in with our retail-quality products, and from the first place we went, they bought into it right away.”
In 2019, Grant Jr. sold the company to Eric Larson, Mel-O-Cream’s head of sales.
But Grant Jr. didn’t just sell the company … he also inadvertently ensured Mel-O-Cream would live on as a family business.
Today, Mel-O-Cream Donuts International is led by Eric Larson as president and CEO and his sons, Chad Larson and Chris Larson, as VP/COO and VP/secretary, respectively.
The Larson family may be the new owners, but they’re no strangers to the company. One might even say baking is in their blood.
Long before the sale, Chad had joined Mel-O-Cream in 2004 as manager of quality and R&D. Shortly after came Eric, who had touched nearly every facet of baking including managing an in-store bakery, owning a donut shop and a full-service retail bakery, and selling bakery equipment and ingredients.
“Eric had a background of selling quality product, and he was good at it,” Grant Jr. recalled. “He was the only sales manager we ever had who would get behind the wheel and drive hundreds of miles to make a deal happen … and he was happy to be doing it.”
Meanwhile, Chad’s background revolved around sanitation and quality, including HACCP, having worked closely with Waltrip on achieving HACCP certification and AIB superior audit ratings. They also worked together on R&D, ideating new product development.
“They brought a combination of skills and backgrounds that made them perfect to take over and make sure it performs. It was also very clear they would honor Mel-O-Cream’s traditions.” — Kelly Grant Jr. | former owner | Mel-O-Cream Donuts International
“Mel-O-Cream had become an institution in Springfield, and we did not want to sell it to anyone who wouldn’t maintain that reputation,” Grant Jr. said, reminiscing on dozens of offers, none of which would guarantee support of the retail stores still operating in town. “I was ready to sell, but I wanted it to maintain the traditions.”
With Eric’s bakery sales experience and relationships with Mel-O-Cream customers, Chad’s expertise in bakery operations and quality, and Chris’ engineering background, the Larson family was a perfect fit. And when Chad’s daughter Samantha, his wife Christie and Chris’ son Alex came on board in operations, admin and maintenance, respectively, the Larsons formed a veritable Mel-O-Cream dream team.
“They brought a combination of skills and backgrounds that made them perfect to take over and make sure it performs,” Grant Jr. said. “It was also very clear they would honor Mel-O-Cream’s traditions.”
This story has been adapted from the December | IA 2022 issue of Commercial Baking. Read the full story in the digital edition here.
