The historic Krispy Kreme donut shop in Atlanta -- which is owned by Shaq and has ties to Martin Luther King Jr. -- was "gutted" in a massive fire Wednesday morning ... but the NBA legend has vowed to repair it.
The fire broke out at the Ponce de Leon Ave. location just after midnight while 2 employees were still inside the shop.
Both staffers were able to escape without injury, but the structure took heavy damage before Atlanta Fire Rescue was able to extinguish the blaze.
"A fast moving fire gutted the building this morning just before 1 a.