HOUSTON — KHOU’s Verify Team is here to answer your questions, which means getting to the bottom of rumors - big and small.
Shanna M. emailed asking, “There is a rumor that the Shipley’s Do-Nuts on Ella at 34th is not actually a real Shipley Do-Nuts. I’ve been told it’s a rip off. Their sign and boxes say Shipley’s and the regular donut place is just Shipley. No ‘s. Everyone in the Garden Oaks/Oak Forest area have always through that this was the original Shipley Do-Nuts.”
KHOU 11 News reached out to two sources: a corporate spokesperson and the owner of the store on Ella.
Both said the store in question is a franchise location.
So why does the store’s signs say “Shipley’s” when the company is “Shipley” Do-nuts?
The sign was misspelled when the store first opened in 1963, and it was just never fixed.
“This is the only location you’ll see with this sign spelled the way its spelled, because it’s not right,” laughed Michael Clark, the store’s current owner.
Although it is one of the first Shipley franchise locations, it’s not the first store.
The first store opened by the Shipley family was on Height’s boulevard, where Revival Market is located now.
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