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Press Release : Article : Denver Colorado

        The Magazine

On The Road at Krispy Kreme  
                  by Bev Saidel

            I never expected to be at the new Krispy Kreme in Denver on their opening day.  After all, they are just donuts.  And donuts are not in my diet plan.  But there I was on site, not first thing, but later in the day, with friends.  Why?  Because as my friends told me --You’ll be able to look back at the highlights of your life and have this “happening” listed among them.  You know, kind of like, opening day at Coors Field, attending Woodstock or the Monterey Pops Festival or attending the protest rally against the NRA after Columbine. They named a list of events and here among them, I thought curiously, was the importance of attendance at the Krispy Kreme on opening day.  How auspicious.

            From the moment I awoke on the 27th of March, all I heard was news of the three hour line, the traffic jam, and that there were police on site, etc.  It sounded like something real important was going on.  It sounded like an event of merit.  I kept wondering about it, trying to get past the hype.  It sounded as if a summit on the elimination of nuclear weapons was going on or that people were rallying to right some injustice.  It sounded momentous - you could not escape hearing about it.  The name Krispy Kreme was on everyone’s lips.   All this for a southern based donut shop opening its first store in Colorado.

            As we made our plans to attend, it was decided that we would not meet at 5:30 a.m. (thank the maker) but rather try to leave around 10:00 a.m.  The news throughout the morning indicated that there had been no let up in the traffic and that cars were pretty much bumper to bumper on approach.  The exit lane from the main road was jammed - in other words, expect to wait.

            And so we left - two carloads heading for Krispy Kreme.  Somehow we avoided the traffic and found a place to park in the lot.  The rest of our group was not so lucky and ended up parking across the road. We hurried toward the end of the line and took our place. As we stood there, we watched as the police kept the cars in line, making sure that no one cut in or tried to be where they should not.  And we noticed the press on hand to record the event for posterity.  One of the group noticed that the drive-thru line curled around the building and out to the street and out the main road, where people sat waiting and waiting and waiting.  It was amazing.

            The college students in front of us found a rock and drew genetic equations on the fresh asphalt patiently waiting, while those in line eyed those coming out of the shop carrying dozens and dozens of donuts -- bags filled with boxes filled with donuts - donuts so good that people were willing to stand in line patiently for hours just to get one. 

As we neared the sign facing the street, one of our party pointed out the importance of the neon sign that flashed “Hot Donuts”.

            “When that sign is lit, you know that the donuts are hot and that’s what makes them so good.  You want to get them hot, off of the line - so that they are fresh and light and they melt in your mouth.  That’s the secret of Krispy Kreme.”  Okay, it was beginning to sound better, but really, they are just donuts.

            As the noon hour approached, with the smell of sugar and dough in our noses, several of us were beginning to think that even the near-by Chuck E Cheese sounded pretty good.  About one-half hour later, we indulged in pieces of greasy pepperoni pizza, just to take the edge off of our hunger.

We continued to wait and as we stood we debated the issue of just how many donuts we were going to buy.  When they finally asked me, I said, “Two.”

“Two?”

“Yes, two.”

“Two dozen?” 

“No, just two.”  Mouths dropped open.  Just two?  How could I stand in line (for what was getting close to three hours) for two donuts?  They were incredulous.  I was steadfast.

            As we neared the side doors, we realized that we were close to the finish.  Maybe forty-five minutes more.  A gentleman wearing Krispy Kreme clothing approached us with the easily identifiable white with green dotted Krispy Kreme box. 

            “Since you have been waiting so long and since we are short on product, I thought you’d like a taste.”  He proffered the box.  Hands reached in.  Our minds registered his words… “short on product” – Oh No!  The donuts were glazed - Krispy Kreme’s top of the line, and they were there for the taking.  They were not hot, but when you took a bite...  Well, let’s just say it tasted like a glazed donut -- light, flavorful, finger licking good from all of the glazed sugar.  Okay, yes it was a good donut.  But I had been standing in line for over two hours and at that point, anything would have tasted good, except brussel sprouts - yuck!

            Several of us bolted for the restroom upon finally entering the building.  We were then free to take in the photographic memorabilia in the building’s interior and worked on identifying what are now classic cars in the photographs.  And then our attention turned to the production line.  As we approached the glass wall that allows visitors to view the donut making process, we saw the machine that squirted the dough onto a conveyor system.  The conveyors took the dough up and down and up and down through the heated space allowing the dough to rise.  Then we watched as the now discernable donuts were dropped, ever so gently, into the river of liquid fat.  As they continued to move forward, like so many intertubes drifting down the Lazy River at Water World, they were suddenly and again ever so gently flipped so that both sides could be immersed in the hot fat.  This was pretty exciting.  Our mouths were already watering as a shower of liquid sugar - the glaze, washed onto the donuts.  As they neared the finish line, Krispy Kreme line workers deftly placed them into the now familiar green dotted white boxes - dozens for the taking.  Just like that!

            One of our friends made his purchase and as we were standing in line waiting to pay, he popped hot, glazed, sticky, mouth-watering donuts into our mouths.

“You’ve got to have one while they’re hot!” he explained.  No one argued.

            I was busy licking my fingers and looking around to see if my friends’ eyes were glazed like mine, when he popped another into my mouth.  The sugar rush was so intense, I opened the bottle of water in my hand and took a big swig, before paying for it! 

            And then when we had paid and all was said and done, after waiting for three hours, we went outside and sat at the unbrella’d table and smiled at each other.  We had accomplished our goal.  We had breached the Krispy Kreme and come out glorious, with dozens of donuts, literally in hand.  Now we could say, “I was at the Krispy Kreme on opening day!”  We were no longer Krispy Kreme virgins.  We now knew why people had waited, why news articles had been filed, why the highway was backed up. 

 Beverly A. Saidel is the owner of Cheap Shots Photography in Denver, Co. (303-331-9932) 

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