Shipley Do-Nuts, the Houston-born doughnut and kolache chain, plans to open in the Kroger-anchored Saddlebrook shopping center at 10945 State Bridge Road, giving the busy Alpharetta-Johns Creek corridor its first dedicated doughnut drive-thru.
The roughly 1,600-square-foot end-cap space already has a drive-thru window, according to North Atlanta Star, which first reported the plan on Wednesday, Aug. 12. No opening date has been announced, and the site does not yet appear in Shipley's online store directory.
The location is the first specific address tied to a broader Atlanta expansion Shipley announced in February. CEO Flynn Dekker said in that Feb. 18 press release that the company had signed multi-unit deals for shops in Alpharetta, Roswell and Sandy Springs as part of a 14-location national push that also includes Las Vegas, New Orleans and Dallas-Fort Worth.
A second try at metro Atlanta
Shipley's metro Atlanta debut, a March 2023 opening on Keith Bridge Road in Cumming, closed in January 2026. A previously announced site on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth was also abandoned, according to ToNeTo Atlanta.
The State Bridge Road plan represents a different bet. Rather than a standalone suburban outpost, the Saddlebrook site sits in a dense retail strip surrounded by established neighborhoods, schools and office parks that feed steady commuter traffic along State Bridge.
A Tim Hortons opened roughly half a mile away on State Bridge Road earlier in 2026, according to North Atlanta Star, adding another drive-thru breakfast competitor in the corridor.
What's on the menu
Founded in 1936, Shipley operates more than 400 locations across 13 states. The chain is best known for hot glazed doughnuts made fresh daily, plus kolaches, a savory Texas breakfast pastry filled with combinations of sausage, egg and cheese. The company opened a record 35 new shops in 2025 and was sold to Beverly Hills-based Levine Leichtman Capital Partners in mid-2025 for a reported $400 million.
Dekker called the first half of 2026 "one of the strongest growth periods for Shipley Donuts" in an Aug. 6 Food Business News report, citing new openings in El Paso, Bossier City, Louisiana, and Vienna, Virginia.
What to watch next
Residents looking for a timeline should watch for building permit filings with Fulton County or a business license application through Johns Creek, which would signal construction is underway. The Saddlebrook center's other recent addition, Japanese discount retailer Daiso, opened there in 2025, according to North Atlanta Star.
