[EXCLUSIVE] After Brief Hiatus, Shipley Do-Nuts Looking to Return to Metro Atlanta

Shipley Do-Nuts is apparently already returning to metro Atlanta.  Mere months after closing their lone metro Atlanta franchise in Cumming, a new Shipley Do-Nuts appears destined for the Alpharetta / Johns Creek area, according to planning materials reviewed by ToNeTo Atlanta.

The new Shipley Do-Nuts is to open in a 1,600 square foot endcap space of the Kroger-anchored Saddlebrook shopping center at 10945 State Bridge Road in Alpharetta / Johns Creek.  The space has over the years had several tenants including Thrive Pet Healthcare and Verizon, but importantly had a drive-thru that will be reactivated from its time as a dry cleaner.  

In addition to Kroger, the center is also home to popular Japanese discount store Daiso which opened in 2025 in a 10,000 square foot former Tuesday Morning space.  

The new Shipley's will be about a half mile from where a new Tim Horton's, another donut and coffee spot, opened this past January in a portion of a converted former CVS Pharmacy.   

Metro Atlanta's first franchise of the Texas-based donut and coffee chain opened March 20, 2023 at 3225 Keith Bridge Road in Cumming, but closed as of January 11.  Our prior coverage of the brand's entry into the Atlanta market was incredibly popular across multiple social media channels including dozens of comments and shares on LinkedIn, more than a hundred comments on the website, and thousands of shares, likes, and comments on our Facebook page.  That said, the excitement seems not to have carried over into people's willingness to drive to what became the only location in metro Atlanta, in Cumming.   

"Founded in 1936 in Houston, Shipley Do-Nuts is beloved throughout the South for its more than 60 varieties of fresh, hot do-nuts, as well as kolaches (savory breakfast rolls filled with meat, typically sausage), hot coffee, and cold brew. Its signature glazed do-nuts, famous for their unique hexagon shape that creates a lighter, fluffier texture and a glaze that provides just the right amount of sweetness, are by far the brand’s bestseller."         

ToNeTo Atlanta first reported on Shipley's planned Atlanta area arrival in April 2022 at which point the first area location was to have opened during the fall of 2022 on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth.  That location - 4165 Pleasant Hill Road in a former Taco Bell/Pizza Hut - was delayed several months and then was later abandoned entirely.  The Duluth location was to be opened by Dallas, Texas-based ARFD Foods, LLC, operated by Andrew Robertson and Franklin Diaz, who signed an agreement to open up to 25 Shipley Do-Nuts locations in Georgia.  The group never opened any units.  The new metro Atlanta unit is expected to be opened by a completely new franchisee.  A separate franchise of Shipley Do-Nuts opened on December 17, 2025 in Albany as part of a two-store development deal.    

Have you ever been to Shipley Do-Nuts?  Are you excited for the opening of Sipley Do-Nuts in Alpharetta?  Which Texas import are you more excited about: Whataburger or Shipley Do-Nuts?

Please share your thoughts below.