After 12 years of slinging doughnuts and fried chicken sandwiches in Philadelphia, Federal Donuts is expanding across the country with a new location in Las Vegas.
The latest shop will open in the food court of the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa in early 2024. While the exact launch date is unknown, Federal Donuts cofounder Michael Solomonov promised the location would open “just in time for the Super Bowl” in an Instagram Reel posted Thursday.
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With the new presence in Vegas comes a new name. Federal Donuts will officially rebrand to Federal Donuts & Chicken in the new year, in a nod to the chain’s other signature item: twice-fried chicken. Federal Donuts will roll out the “fresh name and look” to its 11 shops across Philadelphia in the coming months, a spokesperson said.
“We’re thrilled to kick-off this incredibly exciting new chapter for our company, and look forward to bringing our brand of Donuts & Chicken magic to West Coast markets and beyond,” Solomonov and cofounder Steve Cook said in a press release.
A Federal Donuts expansion has been in the works since at least April 2022, when the private equity firm NewSpring Franchise invested in the brand with the aim of adding up to 139 shops. Neither the firm, which also bought Duck Donuts in 2021, nor Federal Donuts has disclosed the terms of the deal or other planned locations.
But the Red Rock location won’t be Federal Donuts’ first outside Philly. The chain briefly entered the Miami market in 2017, along with Dizengoff, another brand in Solomonov and Cook’s CookNSolo restaurant group. Both abruptly closed after six months allegedly due to “constant” nearby construction.
The Marlton Square shopping center also promised customers in April that a Federal Donuts would be “coming soon” to the South Jersey mall, but no opening date has been announced.
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