Our Krispy Kreme opened with that fanfare, and closed 2 years later. It’s not doing that well in NY.
It blows my mind that people get that excited about Krispy Kremes and are willing to wait that long for them. I remember when the first one opened in Minnesota and it was all over the news. Then I tried one for myself and my mind was further boggled. It didn’t even taste that great! The glazed donut I ate had a terrible greasy aftertaste. I’ve tried a Krispy Kreme here and there since, and the only ones I’ve found to be actually tasty are the cake donuts. For anything else, I’d rather visit my local bakery.
I remember moving to Daytona Beach, FL in 96’ where they had been around already for years. Nobody really made much a fuss about them. They were about as popular as Dunkin Donuts.
Then they started going cross country and somehow the whole fad started. Long lines, newer shinier stores.
But like all fads they have a short lifespan. Now the KK I live by in Minneapolis that used to have long lines back in 02’ is dead pretty much most of the day.
Looks like their trying to take the old hype international.
Same story in Dallas. A few years back, they open to all the hooplah, three-hour lines, etc. I didn’t understand it then and I don’t understand it now. I don’t care if Jesus Christ himself is creating these donuts Himself out of manna from heaven and personally greeting each customer, an hours long wait for donuts is outrageous. They aren’t even giving them away!
I had them on a few occasions back in the day, when someone would bring a box to the office and people would breathlessly coo over the damn things. The first time I had one I said something like “… so it tastes like a donut. So?” and get glared at. But over time it was less and less exciting to people to see them and the overboard gushing abated and they became just another box of donuts.
Over the last few years most of the stores closed down until I only know of one in my part of town, and it doesn’t seem to do all that much business.
Oh — but have you tried the fig crullers at the Krispy Kreme where Jesus works?
Mmm, mmm! They are heavenly.
I’m not so fond though of the Blood-of-Christ filled donuts with sprinkles. They get all soggy when they transubstantiate.
I don’t understand how people can describe the taste of “a Krispy Kreme doughnut.” There are about half a dozen basic forms on which modifications were made.
Like this comment here:
It couldn’t possibly be a description of every kind of doughnut available at Krispy Kreme. Perhaps the glazed variety. But what about the cake-style ones? And then you have the crullers and the filled ones and others.
That said, I find Krispy Kreme’s various offerings to be the best commonly commercially available doughnut in the United States – far far superior to Dunkin’ Donuts.
My brother (who is also Cazzle’s esteemed relative) visited KK last Sat, stood in line for an hour with his boss/mate, bought 3 boxes (which came to $36). They waited in line, rather than the drive thru, which was about 3 hours long.
I saw him on Sunday and asked why so many donuts. He explained that you couldn’t stand in line for THAT long and only buy a couple.
Hence, the EFTPOS machine would have been working overtime…
I still understand the hoopla. I mean, the Original Glazed is nice, but all the donuts in the Sampler were so-so.
About twelve years ago I was living in a small town in Georgia (outside of Athens) with my then-girlfriend and a dog. There was a Krispy Kreme between our house and the video store; in the evenings we’d take the dog and walk up to rent a movie, and on the way home we’d stop into Krispy Kreme and get some fresh doughnuts. Those are some great memories.
But I’m not standing in freaking line for a doughnut.
Obviously I can only comment on the one kind I tried, right? And given that experience I’m hardly likely to try another for statistical veracity, now am I? Jeez.
I believe it was whatever passes for normal there, you know, their regular, standard, basic product. It was certainly glazed, as my teeth wore that glaze until I could get to a bathroom and scrub it off.
When I was in the US last year I was shocked by the cheapness of food in general, but takeaway food particularly, in comparison with Aussie prices. IANA economist, so I have no valid explanation, but some wild stabs include something to do with inflation, cost of living, minimum wage, and/or interest rates… Remind me to read the finance page of the newspaper some time.
When I was living in Sydney a couple of years ago, I lucked out in that one of my employers brought in a few boxes of KK original glazed doughnuts for a team meeting. They were gorgeous. Even nicer than the iced doughnuts we get over here in normal doughnut shops. However, as nice as they were they weren’t enough for me to drive all the way out to Penrith from Ryde, and they’re certainly not nice enough to justify a 3-hour wait.
Though I will be very happy if/when they finally open a store or two in Adelaide.
Indeed, as we can see on this handy map, you are in one of the yellow, forlorn, joyless, Krispy Kreme-less states of Australia. “We are not here yet,” says the sad, sad caption above. And the hellish yellow burns the eyes.
New South Wales, on the other hand, is a radiantly green, flourishing, Elysian land, full of hope and promise, with many, many Krispy Kremes at a host of convenient locations. “We are here,” the caption reassures us. No worries, mate.
Also, according to the map, New Zealand has placed itself on a giant square hovercraft and moved just south of Australia, no doubt to be closer to the Krispy Kremes that are available. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with them having that sort of technology; the potential abuses are alarming and all too easy to imagine. Still, I suppose they’ve been one of the better behaved nations, so far, and deserve the benefit of the doubt.
On a slightly more serious note . . . according to here there are four more stores opening soon in Australia. That’s the good news for the fans. The bad news is that (if I did my map lookups correctly) they’re still nowhere near Adelaide.
Yep, definitely nowhere near Adelaide.
And kind of annoying, because I used to live right near the Macquarie Centre, which makes it sadder for me that they’re putting one in there.
Still, you won’t catch me flying all the way over to Sydney just for some friggin’ doughnuts (that particular excess is reserved for a kebab and chips from the kebab shop down the road from my old house. Mmmm)
I’m in North Ryde, about 25 minutes walk from Macquarie Centre. I’ve heard nothing about KK opening there. I hope this is a mistake. Someone brought KKs in to work the other evening - I think it was a fundraiser for her child’s school - and tried one. I doubt I’ll try another.