North Carolina Icons: Cheerwine & Krispy Kreme

For this week’s North Carolina Icons, we’re combining two North Carolina companies: Cheerwine and Krispy Kreme, #3 and #34 on Our State Magazine’s 100 North Carolina Icons list. Both companies started in North Carolina in the early 20th century, Cheerwine in Salisbury and Krispy Kreme in Winston-Salem, and have remained there while spreading to other states.

This connection allowed them to partner in July 2010—and again in July 2011—to create the limited-time Cheerwine-flavored doughnut. Both companies are popular in North Carolina. Fans of Cheerwine have developed their own Cheerwine Finder website since it can be hard to locate outside of North Carolina, and even then it’s almost exclusively in the southeast (though it’s made its first move to Europe and is now available in Norway). Meanwhile, fans of Krispy Kreme at North Carolina State University have created the Krispy Kreme Challenge, where contestants attempt to eat a dozen doughnuts and run a five mile race in under an hour.

The Encyclopedia of North Carolina, edited by William Powell, includes information on Cheerwine, Krispy Kreme, and so much more about North Carolina. The first single-volume reference to the events, institutions, and cultural forces that have defined the state, this volume was developed by William S. Powell, whom the Raleigh News & Observer described as a “living repository of information on all things North Carolinian.” With contributions by more than 550 volunteer writers—including scholars, librarians, journalists, and many others—it is a true “people’s encyclopedia” of North Carolina. The volume includes more than 2,000 entries, presented alphabetically, consisting of longer essays on major subjects, briefer entries, and short summaries and definitions. Most entries include suggestions for further reading. Abundantly illustrated with 400 photographs and maps, it is both a celebration and a gift—from the citizens of North Carolina, to the citizens of North Carolina.

For now, find out more through the online Encyclopedia of North Carolina entries on Cheerwine and Krispy Kreme, and keep an eye on our NC icons tag for more icons of North Carolina.