Kreme Takes a Whipping
Nothing Left but the Hole in the Middle
Krispy Kreme’s first West Coast outlet sparked fanfare and big sales. Patrons moved on, and now so has the store.
Fans and employees of Krispy Kreme went from glazed to confused Thursday morning as the chain’s La Habra store — the first on the West Coast — pulled down its signs, packed up its doughnut mix and shut its doors for good.
From opening day in January 1999, the workers toiling inside the tidy white, green and red building fueled a feeding frenzy to the tune of 20 million doughnuts and $9 million in sales in the first year.
…Whatever the reasons, James Glass, an analyst with CIBC World Markets in Boston, put it bluntly: “People just won’t line up for doughnuts forever and ever.”
Can’t say I’m surprised. “Southern tradition” or not, I’ve never much cared for Krispy Kremes, bein’ a TO THE DEATH “Dunkin Donuts Chocolate Creme-Filled” kinda girl.
Even shuttering every Dunkin’ Donut for 65 miles five years ago didn’t drive me to Krispy Kreme desperation donut dementia. Now that’s loyalty.
Swill Food and Grog | tree hugging sister | 
August 18, 2006 1:52 pm
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I can’t get excited about any specific brand of fat pills….they all have the same general ingredients, and the same general manufacturing process. It’s not like people age their doughnuts for years in a special oak cask, or use only wheat grown in southern France.
Mix the ingredients, stick ’em in the deep fryer, decorate/glaze with additional calorie coating, plop on the counter, and then sell ’em. Doughnuts is doughnuts, concentrated calories providing a much needed sugar buzz early in the morning.
Oh,
you
are
so
WWRROOOOONNGGG !!!!
wrong wrongwrong wrongwrong wrongwrongWRONG
Little Rock has a Krispy Kreme — and I am not kidding when I tell you it is RIGHT NEXT DOOR to the Arkansas Heart Hospital. I laugh everytime I drive by it.
I prefer Dunkin Donuts, too. KK are too mushy.
I grew up with Krispy Kremes, sold them as a cub scout, and never really cared for them. Dunkin donuts are a lot better. The craze that swept over the recent introduction of KK donuts into the rest of the country left me perplexed.
Besides, if you want to eat airy donuts, nothing beats Round Rock donuts. They have a much better flavor and have a bit of egg in them to make them yellowish. Still not better than dunkin, though.
“Round Rock”? Is that a Texass donut subspecies?
Doughnuts is doughnuts.
Don’t like the Krispy Kreme, too sweet and most of the DD here get them delivered from one central spot, so not too good. Found a bakery to get them from. Do need to find out if Honey Fluff is still open in beautiful Millington Tn
TRUCKED IN Dunkin’ Donuts?! WHAT is UP with THAT?!
And do they deliver to Bangla-cola?
Round Rock is a little city on the outskirts north of Austin.
I think one problem that KK had is selling their donuts at every gas station you can find. KK donuts are only really good when they’re hot off the line, and when they sit in the gas station for a day, they lose what little charm they had. Plus by being so ubiquitous, they lost any feeling of being special.
The DD are made in one store and sent around to all the little satellite DD in the area. And they have the nerve to charge 10.00 a lb for the coffee now, no more 2lb for 12.00
The KK are in the Acme up here along w/ the gas stations
Krispy Kreme’s biggest mistake was going beyond a basic glazed style. If they wanted to branch out beyond that, a light coat of granulated sugar would’ve fit the bill better.
*Channeling the memories of “Plain N’ Fancy Donuts” at Renninger’s Farmers Market just south of Schuylkill Haven PA.*
They made only two kind of Kettle Cooked [i.e. deep-fried] doughnuts, glazed and granulated sugar. The rest were the standard baked with different styles and types of frostings, candied bits, fillings, etc.
I loved those sugar doughnuts like life itself.
I do like fresh KK doughnuts, but when they are more than an hour old… yuck. My faves are the DD chocolate creme filled too. I have to stop eating them while wearing dark colors though.
There’s a chain in Oklahoma City area called Daylight Donuts, and they kick KK’s ass.