It's a safe bet that John Cone is the only person in the country (possibly the world) who could put on his business card the dual title of doughnut store owner and wrestling referee. For the past 10 years, Cone and his wife have been the proprietors of the North Kansas City Donut King and for the past three years he has also traveled more miles than he can count referring WWE matches.
It's a double life of working the night shift at the store one week and appearing in front of more than 10,000 people and countless more on television the next week. Despite the hectic schedule Cone is content to keep things the way they are. "In fact when I'm on the road, I'm always on the lookout for businesses and ideas I can steal," Cone said. Not that he's looking for a way to reinvent his business. The Cones are third-generation Donut King owners, and in many ways they still run it as it was when it opened in 1969.
Doughnuts are made throughout the day and the Cones are very
hands-on-owners, though John admits he doesn't work as much as he used
to. "I'll be gone up to three weeks at a time but we've got great
employees which makes it so much easier." When time permits (pretty much any time but the morning rush), employees stuff creme doughnuts to order. Often, people come by just to hang out and chat.
Tracking where Cone goes is a full-time job in of itself.
This week he's working shows in Pensacola, Florida; Lafayette,
Louisiana; Mobile, Alabama; and New Orleans. He not only referees but also
works as a stage hand, meaning days start around 7 a.m. and end around 1 a.m. Then it's off for a several-hour drive to the next town. "I only average maybe two, three hours of
sleep on the road ... they get hotels for the referees but mostly we don't
have time to use them."
Not that running a doughnut store offers
much more sleep. Cone and his wife decided to buy Donut King after they
saw an ad in the newspaper. They were both working at a fast-food restaurant and decided they needed something new. "She would work
the morning shift and I would work the night shift and we would
literally never see each other. Once we bought Donut King, it was the
opposite -- we saw each other 24 hours a day. We went from one extreme to
the other."
Cone said sometimes wrestling fans will come into
the store to talk but mostly it's people looking for fresh doughnuts.
"Either way, I'm happy to help."
For a chance to see Cone in action, watch WWE's Raw tonight at 8 p.m. on the USA channel.
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I saw Mr. Cone ref down at one of Harley Race's shows in Eldon, MO, soon before he went to WWE (Trevor Murdoch and Hacksaw were special guests. Hacksaw was signing 2x4s for $10 - for another 10, he may have hit you with it! ). John was a great ref then, no wonder he got hired by them!
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