Stan's or Randy's? On Homestead Road, the Answer Depends on the Time of Day

At 2:29 p.m. on a weekday, the corner of Homestead Road and Las Palmas Drive has two donut counters open. A minute later it has one. Stan's Donut Shop at 2628 Homestead Road closes at 2:30 p.m. every day. Across the street at 2595 Homestead Road, Randy's Donuts currently lists hours from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

On opening day, July 31, the news coverage was about a rivalry. Three months later, the two shops overlap for about eight and a half hours each morning. After that, only one of them is selling donuts.

Who has the corner, hour by hour

Here is the day as each shop currently lists it.

Randy's evening hours have already changed twice. On opening weekend, Ausaf Masud, one of the franchise owners, estimated the shop was going through about 6,500 donuts a day and running out hours before its 9 p.m. close. He told Palo Alto Online he had cut hours until production caught up. That August report listed Monday through Thursday 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday and Saturday 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. schedule on Randy's site today is the one to plan around. Check the location page before an after-dinner run.

Stan's runs on a smaller scale. It's a single-location family bakery founded in April 1959 by Stanford Wittmayer and his wife Florence, who went by Tina. All nine of their children worked there at one point or another. Julie Clark, the youngest daughter, runs it now.

Why a Los Angeles chain chose a former KFC kitty-corner from Stan's

The building itself explains the different hours. The Randy's site was a KFC and later a Chinese restaurant called Top Chef. In January, Palo Alto Online reported that the franchisee picked it for the large kitchen and commissary plans, along with the size of the space, its availability, price and cost, and that he wasn't trying to take Stan's customers. On opening day, Masud told the Bay Area News Group, in a story carried by the Press Democrat, that a big draw was the chance to reopen the drive-thru lane, which few properties have. The owners told KQED they planned to open the drive-thru later in 2026.

A big commissary kitchen and a drive-thru suit an all-day menu. Randy's CEO Mark Kelegian said the company dates to 1952. He described up to 50 donut varieties, breakfast sandwiches, a long list of coffee drinks and refreshers, and evening hours aimed at afternoon and after-dinner customers.

None of that calmed the neighborhood before the doors opened. In the days before the launch, KRON4 collected social media posts pledging loyalty to Stan's and questioning the site. On opening morning, both owners played down the idea of a war. Masud predicted "healthy competition" and summed up his pitch this way:

"It's double the doughnut fun."

Both counters were busy that day. The Silicon Valley Voice reported that Randy's line peaked at around 450 people, by Masud's estimate. In the shopping center kitty-corner, a hundred or more people lined up at Stan's. Clark told Palo Alto Online that business "exploded" that day and that the support beat anything she saw during COVID. The following Monday, both lines were still out the door.

What each counter is built to sell

The overlap is real in one place. Both shops told reporters on opening day that the glazed raised donut was their bestseller. Stan's charged $1.90 for it and Randy's charged $2.75. Past that donut, the menus go in different directions.

Stan's keeps a short menu that changes by day. Its glazed is listed as the "Famous Glazed." Apple fritters are on the menu Mondays and Fridays, and the buttermilk selection rotates through the week. The menu notes that flavors may change on holidays. Inside, Palo Alto Online noted, the hand-painted menu signs are still up.

Randy's is more seasonal. Kelegian pointed to the Maple Bacon Long John and a seasonal Mango Tajin. This week, the Santa Clara store's online ordering menu lists a Halloween Raised and a Spider Raised donut, a Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese, and pumpkin drinks: the Pumpkin Pie Latte, the Iced Pumpkin Pie Latte and Cafe Pumpkin.

Customers interviewed on opening day had already worked this out. One told the Silicon Valley Voice that Randy's "has a lot more selection," but Stan's glaze is "unbeatable." Others split up for the day. One pair sent one friend to each line and planned to compare afterward. When someone asked where the neutral ground was, a customer pointed across the parking lot to the Taco Bell.

Planning around both counters through Thanksgiving

Advance ordering is where the two shops differ most. Stan's takes orders by phone only, with at least 24 hours' notice, and asks for more lead time on busy Thursday through Sunday dates. A dozen for a Saturday morning means calling midweek. Randy's takes orders online. A box for a late-afternoon party has only one option on this corner, because Stan's is closed by then.

Here's how the next few weeks look from this corner, starting with the Halloween weekend.

1. Through Nov. 3: the ofrenda across the street. Stan's describes its location as across from the Central Park Library. The library's community ofrenda for Día de los Muertos is in the first-floor lobby through Nov. 3, and visitors can add photos of loved ones who have died, pets included. Stopping there and then crossing for a morning box works any day until Stan's closes at 2:30.
2. Saturday, Oct. 31: the Halloween Picnic in the Park. Mission Branch Library holds its picnic at City Plaza Park from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., with storytime, crafts, treats and games. To bring a box from Stan's, pick it up before the picnic, since Stan's closes at 2:30. A Spider Raised from Randy's still works after the picnic ends.
3. Saturday, Nov. 21: the Triton Holiday Art Fair. The Triton Museum holds its free Holiday Art Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with 25 to 30 local vendors.
4. Nov. 26 and 27: Stan's is closed. Stan's homepage lists closures for Thanksgiving on 11/26 and Black Friday on 11/27. If a Stan's dozen is part of your Thanksgiving weekend, order and pick up by Wednesday, Nov. 25.
5. Nov. 27 and 28: SJMADE Holiday Fair. San José Made's annual fair moves into the Santa Clara Convention Center at 5001 Great America Parkway on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. Organizers list more than 350 makers, free admission and hours from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The same corner shows up again for anyone already in the neighborhood. Stan's has been on Homestead Road since 1959. Randy's opened this summer in a building that has already gone through a few tenants. Together they now cover most of the day. For more on what's changing around town, our Santa Clara neighborhood page and our look at the city's summer programming calendar have more.

David Kim Group pays attention to the parts of a neighborhood that show up in daily routines, like which counter is open at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday. If you'd like to talk through how places like this corner fit into your plans in Santa Clara, Schedule a Consultation with our team.