Investment banker reinvents himself as fast-serve franchiser

When investment banker Lincoln Spoor walked into a Krispy Kreme in Alexandria, Va,. in 1992, his life changed with his first bite.

“It was the best thing ever,” he said.

Spoor couldn’t shake the taste of the treat and he immediately contacted Krispy Kreme in hopes of opening up his own franchise.

“I invited myself to see them and showed them all the wonderful things I could do for the company,” he said. “But they said I didn’t have the qualifications and turned me down.”

However, Spoor didn’t let the bad news get the best of him. Instead, he became more persistent.

Spoor contacted Krispy Kreme again several years later and asked them to consider his franchise proposal.

“They finally said OK, so I quit my job and moved to Vegas to open my first store,” the Minnesota native said. “I knew if I opened my first store there and nobody came that I could take the doughnuts to the Strip and sell them to casinos.”

When Spoor opened his Krispy Kreme location in 1998 at Spring Mountain Road and Rainbow Boulevard, the doughnut shop broke company sales records within three days.

The following year, Spoor opened additional locations in North Las Vegas, Henderson and at the Excalibur as well as expanding into Utah.

“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and I love delicious food,” Spoor said. “I wanted to bring doughnuts to people because I knew that by bringing this incredible experience that it would make their day.

“Doughnuts are a happy food and no matter what kind of day (customers are) having, they’re happy when they walk in.”

Spoor’s career as an investment banker also helped him with his franchise business.

“When you grow a business, you have to be respectful of debt and not overleverage yourself,” he said. “Also, if you believe in what you’re doing then people will want to believe in you. When you do those things, you’ll be the best at it.”

Instead of stopping at Krispy Kreme franchises, Spoor founded Feel Good Brands, which is based in Las Vegas, employs nearly 700 people and encompasses three divisions across the United States: Westward Dough Operating Co., which operates 11 Krispy Kreme franchises in Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wisconsin and Colorado; Dough Knot, comprised of four Auntie Anne’s Soft Rolled Pretzels and one Popcornopolis franchise; and Sword &Spoon, which includes nine entities such as Popeyes and Cinnabon at Excalibur Food Court.

“In the future, we want whatever’s best in class that’s served fast,” Spoor said. “We’re not in the fast-food business; we’re in the food that’s served fast business. We’re always striving to be better and we’re constantly looking at fast casual that hasn’t been done in this town.”

According to Spoor, culinary in Las Vegas has progressed significantly.

“At first you had to open a place and plant your stake in order to be relevant but now there’s been a lot of innovation in the food business,” he said. “You don’t have to have a name like Wolfgang Puck. If you have a creative culinary experience, people will come.”

Food, Spoor added, is quickly becoming an integral part of the Las Vegas experience.

“When people come here they come here to indulge and experience something they can’t get at home,” he said. “There are incredible chefs creating magic every day, and people pay attention to that and that’s where they choose to spend their dollars. It’s less oriented around gaming and food is really coming into its own here.”