The historic Krispy Kreme Shaq store ‘Gutted’ In Massive Fire, promises ‘Bounce Back’

Atlanta’s historic Krispy Kreme donut shop – which is owned by Shaq and has ties to Martin Luther King Junior. – was “destroyed” in a big fire on Wednesday morning … but the NBA legend promised to fix it.

The fire started at the Avenida Ponce de Leon site just after midnight, while 2 employees were still inside the store.

Both employees managed to escape without injury, but the structure suffered extensive damage before the Atlanta Fire Rescue could extinguish the fire.

“A fast-moving fire destroyed the building this morning, just before 1 am,” the Atlanta Fire Rescue said in a statement.

The video of the fire is wild – it is a miracle that no one was hurt. Joe Ripley from 11Alive reports that the back of the structure was seriously damaged and the famous giant donut menu has melted.

Shaquille O’Neal bought the store in 2016 – noting its importance to the community … and to the country.

It opened in 1965 – one of the first Krispy Kreme stores outside the company’s North Carolina headquarters.

In fact, after Martin Luther King Junior. died in 1968, that specific store donated 150 boxes of donuts to locate churches and feed the mourners who flocked to Atlanta to pay their respects.