The store struggled during the Great Depression, so in 1934 Vernon and Ishmael decided to move to the larger city of Nashville, Tennessee where they hoped business would be better. The uncle and nephew focused solely on selling their doughnuts and opened "The Krispy Kreme Doughnut Company" in a rented store on Gallatin Road.[7] The shop did so well that Vernon's father, Plumie, also left Kentucky and moved to Nashville to help sell doughnuts.