ATLANTA – Shaquille O’Neal’s historic Krispy Kreme Donuts store was engulfed in flames on Wednesday morning, seriously damaging the structure.
Atlanta firefighters responded to the iconic restaurant on Avenida Ponce De Leon shortly after midnight, the media reported. The video posted on social media showed violent flames.
Battalion chief Douglas Hatcher said firefighters saved most of the building after the fire broke out in the back. No injuries were reported. Hatcher said the cause of the fire was under investigation.
Midtown Krispy Kreme opened in 1965. It was one of the first locations established outside the company’s main base of operations in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee.
After Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral in April 1968, Krispy Kreme fed the mourners by donating 150 dozen donuts to Atlanta churches. O’Neal bought the store in 2016.
“I hope no one has been hurt and we can recover better than ever,” the basketball Hall of Fame told WXIA-TV.