Oh Krispy Kreme—why have you forsaken me? Was I not there for you when you needed me most? Oh woe is me! These tears I shed could be adding a salty bite to your sweet, thin, crunchy layer of white glaze, but (sniff, sniff) instead they fall onto an old crumpled white tissue. Why, oh why, have you shut your doors to me… and your other adoring fans? Translation: My local Krispy Kreme store just went out of business.
Pardon my shock, but you have to realize that I have a long history with these world famous donuts. In 1996, I was covering the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Back then Bill Campbell was mayor of the city—he also happened to be a HUGE fan of Krispy Kreme donuts (who isn’t) so needless to say, our green room was filled with the sugary confections. Being from Hawaii I had never heard of Krispy Kremes, so when I ran into the delivery guy walking in with 8 dozens warm, gooey, original Krispy Kreme glazed donuts I thought “ooh, donuts.” What I didn’t know was that by morning’s end I would consume more than 10 (all right, 12 to be exact) Krispy Kreme donuts. If you have ever experienced the ecstasy of wrapping your mouth around a warm Krispy Kreme donut you know that teeth (and subsequently chewing) is really not involved in the consumption process. These scrumptious sweet treats virtually melt like rice paper on your tongue, so really it’s just a matter of swallowing. You can see why it would be easy to devour a dozen Krispy Kremes in just as many minutes (actually, I think I downed them in about 10 minutes because I was back upstairs before anyone realized I was gone).
Fast forward eight years—after living nearly a decade without my beloved Krispy Kremes (I moved from Georgia at the end of 1996) lo and behold the unbelievable happened—a Krispy Kreme store opened in my state… not only in my state, but in my city, actually, not only in my city, but 5 blocks from my house. Reunited and it felt so good! I had just given birth to my daughter when the doors opened to our state-of-the-art Krispy Kreme store. I would load her up in the stroller and we would head out on our daily walk to get a donut. (Did you know that if you walk to and from a Krispy Kreme it negates any calories you consume there? That was my rationale anyway.)
Fast-forward two years. We moved from our home last year (about 5 miles away from the Krispy Kreme), but would still visit every so often. Then, yesterday I was driving down the street past our Krispy Kreme location to find that the building had been stripped of all signage and the (sob!) interior of the store was jet black—-(gasp) my Krispy Kreme is no more. The store went out of business—no warning, no ½ priced donut farewell sale, no article in the local newspaper—NOTHING! I sat in utter disbelief.
I tried making a few phone calls and desperately searched the Internet and all I could find was an article about the fact that Krispy Kreme executives said Monday the company “expects to report a loss for the second quarter and predicted a $30 million decline in revenue for the period because it has fewer company-owned stores.” In addition, executives say they expect to see revenue in the quarter to drop from “$140 million last year to $110 million this year.” System wide, sales fell about 15 percent, the company said.
Some consider the Krispy Kreme a pop culture icon (there have been cases where some Krispy Kreme lovers celebrated their weddings with a Krispy Kreme donut cake). I considered it light at the end of the tunnel—a real pick me up when I needed a boost. Now, sadly, the familiar red “HOT” sign will no longer greet me as I drive down Main Street. Perhaps, I will steer clear of the empty building for a while… at least until my Krispy Kreme tears stop falling.
Is your local Krispy Kreme still open?