Shipley Donuts has six multi-unit development agreements underway in the third quarter, a slate that together covers 30 locations across five states, the Houston-based chain said.
The largest is a franchise deal signed in July for 15 locations across Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties in Metro Detroit — half of the 30 restaurants covered by the quarter's agreements. The first store under that deal is expected to open late in the first quarter of 2027.
A partner in Indiana has signed for three locations in Indianapolis. The quarter's remaining agreements will bring restaurants to Atlanta; Rockwall and El Paso in Texas; the Dallas-Fort Worth area; and Indian River and St. Lucie counties in Florida.
The five states covered by the quarter's agreements are Michigan, Indiana, Georgia, Texas and Florida. The Ohio agreement, which the company signed in the second quarter of 2026, sits outside that count and preceded the July Detroit franchise deal.
Partners commit to multiple stores
Each of the agreements is a multi-unit development deal, meaning a partner commits to several restaurants within a defined territory rather than to a single store. The Metro Detroit deal, which spans three counties, and the three-store Indianapolis commitment follow that pattern. Across the six agreements the company has lined up 30 planned locations, and the figure covers stores to be built under those commitments.
The Detroit agreement accounts for half of the planned locations, making Metro Detroit the center of gravity in the current slate. The remaining commitments are spread across Georgia, Indiana, Texas and Florida, with the three Indianapolis restaurants the only other location count the company specified.
Ninety years from Houston
Flynn Dekker, chief executive of Shipley Donuts, tied the expansion to the chain's history. He said Shipley started in Houston in 1936 and, as the company celebrates its 90th birthday, is growing from a Texas institution into a national brand while still making donuts, kolaches and coffee fresh by hand every day.
Dekker said the company's task in new communities in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and elsewhere is to bring the same fresh-made experience that generations of customers have known in Texas.
Shipley's menu centers on donuts, kolaches and coffee, all of which the company describes as handcrafted fresh daily. Shipley says it is carrying that same approach into the new territories. The Texas identity built up since the 1930s is the reference point Dekker cites for those markets.
The announcement did not include investment figures or opening dates beyond the Metro Detroit target of late in the first quarter of 2027. The remaining agreements will convert into restaurants as development partners secure sites and build.