Alas for, uh...

[spatch]

No more Krispy Kreme in Medford, it seems. Or Saugus. Both franchises have closed. Add to this the one in Copley Square which is no more and you've got a company that came in like a whirlwind in 2003 only to die right out two years amid cries of "So long trendy donut chain" and "Can you still blame the Atkins Diet for this?" It really is the company's own fault, for its rampant expansionism and stock manipulation.

Bostonians who only know Krispy Kreme as the krazy upstart who burst in on the scene two and a half years ago and caused 90-minute drive-through lines as folks waited for HOT DONUTS NOW (and decided maybe Dunkie's was good enough for 'em) may never really know what they were missing. Sad, really. Before 2003 I knew Krispy Kreme as a true Midwest treat, one that I only was able to get when I went coaster-tripping down to Iowa or Ohio (or NYC or Myrtle Beach, but that's another story.) When they arrived on the Boston scene, I was happy, but then realized exactly why it was a good Occasional Treat and not a Regular Thing: them donuts is fat. Eat a half dozen in one sitting and you'll groan about it for days. (Ok, maybe you shouldn't eat a half dozen of anybody's donuts in one sitting, but in my defense, I was drunk.) When I had access to all the Krispy Kremes I could ever want, the novelty was lost and the feeling of specialness disappeared.

Me and charva seem to be the only ones who liked their coffee, as well, and we did very well to treat the Wellington Krispy Kreme (also saddled with the Worst Location Ever) as an Occasional Treat, especially late at night when one or both of us were stuck in CAN'T HANDLE IT Mode.

Additionally, it was the only place in Massachusetts I found where you could get fountain Mr. Pibb. Not any more, I guess.

Comments

[mcsnee.livejournal.com]

Yeah, hot donuts are nice, but they're smaller than Dunkin's, and the glaze is too sweet and too heavily applied. It's much harder to find Dunkin's in Atlanta than Krispy Kreme, but I usually make the effort.

[myolite.livejournal.com]

I loved their hot chocolate. Good stuff.

[duchez.livejournal.com]

I never knew what a Krispy Kreme was until a trip to the West Coast three years ago. I am kind of glad that there's no true KK franchise in NYC - just the delivery trays in gas stations and some stores - I like the feeling of the "occassional" treat.

[spatch]

There are several KK franchises in Manhattan at least; I remember going to one somewhere near 49th Street in 2000 but I can't recall exactly where it was. (Google sez there's one in Rockefeller Center, but I know that's not the one I was in.)

[katre50.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but there are no KK in Manhattan with the full-on Donut Machine Spectacle, that I've found. All the franchises just ship them in from a factory in Jersey or Queens or someplace, and the donuts are not nearly as good not Hot & Now.

[spatch]

Now that's just sad. You need the donut spectacle. That's what makes a Krispy Kreme a Krispy Kreme! Spectacle!

[preysz.livejournal.com]

There was one near 72nd & Broadway that had the machines and served fresh, hot donuts. No idea if there's still one there. The one in Rockefeller Center I walk by every day -- it's in the Concourse, tiny, and only serves cold donuts. Bleah.

[ursamajor]

*nod* the one at 72nd and broadway that preysz mentions - yeah, that was where i used to get my krispy kremes before boston branches opened up. i chose that one partly because they made them on-site, and partly because they were right across the park from the friends i'd stay with. :)

so long, t-accessible krispy kremes. *nostalgic tear*

[jearl.livejournal.com]

There is or was a Krispy Kreme on either 14th or 23rd Street around 6th or 7th Av. Across from a movie place, sorry to be so vague. We'd be waiting to get into a movie and huddle in the cold, eyes trained on the sign to see if there were HOT DONUTS NOW.

Yeah, best in small doses.

[alphacygni]

Oh, oh, oh, somewhere had fountain Pibb, what was it? I think it was one of those crazy chain restaurants. Ruby Tuesday's in Watertown, possibly. I used to get very excited about it.

[spatch]

There's a Ruby Tuesday eastawoostah?! I never knew.

[spwebdesign.livejournal.com]

Been there at least as long as I've been in Boston, 7+ years.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I never cared for Krispy Kream donuts. To my yankee taste, they're more a candy than a pastry. I've eaten 2 in my life, both at work. The sugar hit my teeth like a big bite of aluminium foil. I tried to peel it off, but it's...wet. There was grease on the napkin. That's not a food that nice New Englanders eat. :-p

Dunk's rocks. The glaze is moderately applied, when there's glaze at all. What you taste most is the cakey part.

I believe there's still a KK rack in the Davis Store 24 if you're jonsing. Or perhaps that's gone, too.

[spatch]

No, KK donuts are only good if they're hot off the Mr. Kraig Krispy's Spectacular Fintoozical Donut Machine!

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

While I was eating it, I felt like I should revert to the name Mary Sue.

[spatch]

I can only hear John C. Hume say that in my head now, you know.

[mschlock.livejournal.com]

Here in the CA Bay Area, we have no Dunkin' Donuts, a few Krispy Kremes, and fountain Mr. Pibb is plentiful. Do they not have it at McD's in MA?

I was in and around Boston over Thanksgiving and was greatly amused by a fun game called "count the Dunkin' Donuts." Damn, there's a lot of 'em.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

The Boston McD's I've been to usually have Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Orange Fanta, Barq's Root Beer, and Hi-C. But there are a lot of McD's in Boston, and I imagine the drinks might vary by neighborhood. McD's tends to be flexible about that.

[quodlibetic.livejournal.com]

If Boston has a Chipolte Grill, then you can get Mr Pibb there.

[kaichou.livejournal.com]

Happened here in Toronto as well. Krispy Kreme had been springing up everywhere, which was great.. cause I've always liked to have 'em as a treat and such. Then, all of a sudden, they started closing down everywhere. Now, we're left with one single retail outlet about about an hour outside of Toronto. If that one goes under, the nearest one to Toronto is in the outskirts of Buffalo, New York, which is about 2h15m away. Something tells me that unless their donuts come with a free tank of gas, I won't be makin' THAT run anytime soon.. :P

re:

[zorndeslammes.livejournal.com]

I wonder how many RRCers lost cash when the chain turned out to be run by some horribly corrupt motherfuckers?

[ron_newman]

The Copley one was in the Prudential mall food court. Anyone know if the Dedham location is still open?

KK still coming to Woburn?

[ron_newman]

Even while closing the Saugus and Medford stores, they're still trying to open one in Woburn.

[elvisclooney.livejournal.com]

KK a midwest treat? Bwah? I thought they were a NC invention.

Anyway, I do like the DD...but if you want true midwestern donuts...it's all about LaMar's in KC (and other places as well).

[(Anonymous)]

Krispy Kreme HQ is in Winston-Salem, NC. Them there are Southern treats. We like our treats very sweet.