Krispy Kreme on I-240 closed

[SoonerDave]

Noticed this weekend that the Krispy Kreme on I-240 seemed rather quiet for a Saturday morning, so I drove through and spotted a sign in the window that said the location was closed, and preparations were "in progress" to rebuild the site at a different location that was not specified. It finished off by saying "Visit us at 135th and N. Penn." Store was already empty of most/all equipment as best I could tell.

Can't say I'm surprised; the location was a little peculiar, and obviously donuts aren't exactly a PC food these days, to say nothing of KK's broader troubles over the last several months. Somehow, I'm not holding my breath for that "rebuild." Trick knee sez she's gone for good. We'll see, I s'pose...

[Roger S]

How the once mighty have fallen.... With the way they hit the OKC market I really thought all the Daylight Donut's and other mom & pop joints would fade away but they are all still around, with a few new ones since opened up, and KK is gone..... I like seeing the little guys win. =+)

[venture]

Unfortunately a brand that got bit by the fad bug. Tried too hard to expand too fast and it all came collapsing down.

[Pete]

A few years ago, their new CEO outlined a plan to close unprofitable locations to avoid bankruptcy.

They absolutely expanded too rapidly and have had all types of internal problems as a result.

[MonkeesFan]

That is too bad, is it the only Krispy Kreme in Oklahoma City or is there other locations?

[jedicurt]

With the way they hit the OKC market I really thought all the Daylight Donut's and other mom & pop joints would fade away

My office buys donuts every wednesday morning for everyone, and they switched it up where they got them from... well everyone always said that the Krispy Kreme were the best, until we did a blind taste test between them and Daylight, and everyone in the office (and surprisingly it was everyone) thought the daylight donuts were much better when they had them side by side.

Like with most fads, they seem to come and go. It still shocks me that Subway is doing so well with locations everywhere... It reminds me of being in Buffalo a few years ago for a work conference, and there was a certain street we found where you could stand in the middle of the street and look to the end of the block and see a Starbucks on your right, and a Subway on your left... and then you turn 180 degrees and you see a Starbucks on your right and a Subway on your left...

[SoonerDave]

I think KK definitely suffered from not just "fad" syndrome, but also "one-trick pony" syndrome as well.

By that I mean their potato-flour basic donut was their big seller, and no doubt it was delicious fresh out of the fire. Only problem was the other kinds of donuts, the more conventional varieties like jelly filled, chocolate-frosted, old-fashioned, crullers, etc., etc., were nowhere *near* as good. And once the "basic" donuts weren't hot anymore, they were only so-so. And they were kinda expensive, too, and I think a lot of people started realizing "wait a sec, we're paying a lot for donuts that are only....well, okay??"

When we do allow ourselves the treat of a donut, we do like Daylight on 89th near Western, and Twist over on S. Penn just north of 89th. Just plain, nice, little hole-in-the-strip-mall donut places, with hot coffee, milk, and donuts in nice varieties that are mostly gone around 10AM or so.

Yeah, I thought KK would blow the others away, too, but sometimes the market finds out it likes the mom-n-pop better!

[SoonerDave]

That is too bad, is it the only Krispy Kreme in Oklahoma City or is there other locations?

The only one left I know of is waaaaay the heck on the north side of town, like the blurb in the notice on the I-240 location mentioned...N Penn and 135th.

[Plutonic Panda]

I like Dunkin better anyways.

[MonkeesFan]

I like Dunkin better anyways.

Me too, they have GREAT donuts!

[ShiroiHikari]

KK is gross anyways. I bought into the hype at first, but then I quickly realized that pretty much all their donuts suck, and the glazed ones are only good for about five minutes while warm. After that, they're terrible.

I had to laugh a little when they moved the Norman location and then in no time flat, they were closed again and it became Marco's.

Never tried Daylight, though I'd like to. I do like Dunkin', but there aren't any in Norman (does Donut King count?).

[ThomPaine]

I haven't had one in years. I agree with others here - decent when right out of the fryer, awful at all other times. I still think OKC is ripe for a gourmet donut shop or two.

[jn1780]

Walmart donuts taste just as good as Krispy kreme donuts when their cold. So you knew Krispy Kreme was in trouble when they started selling cold donuts by the the dozen at grocery stores.

Speaking of fads, any wagers on when we will start seeing Chick-fil-A or Raising Cains closing restaurants? Their on their way toward overbuilding and saturating the market. I say the Quailsprings Raising Cains thats inside the Mall will be first. lol

[ThomPaine]

Walmart donuts taste just as good as Krispy kreme donuts when their cold. So you knew Krispy Kreme was in trouble when they started selling cold donuts by the the dozen at grocery stores.

Speaking of fads, any wagers on when we will start seeing Chick-fil-A or Raising Cains closing restaurants? Their on their way toward overbuilding and saturating the market. I say the Quailsprings Raising Cains thats inside the Mall will be first. lol

Don't know about Raising Cains, but Chick-fil-A is busy everywhere, everyday (except Sundays).

[jn1780]

Don't know about Raising Cains, but Chick-fil-A is busy everywhere, everyday (except Sundays).

Can't argue with that. I will just say that at one time Krispy Kreme had people crowding their parking lots and going crazy whenever a new store opened. Sounds familiar.

[ThomPaine]

Can't argue with that. I will just say that at one time Krispy Kreme had people crowding their parking lots and going crazy whenever a new store opened. Sounds familiar.

You're correct, but when people were going nuts here over KK, their stores were not so busy in the South. I have travelled all over Chick-fil-A land, and every store has two things in common - pleasant employees and long lines. You may be right, but I think burnout is still a ways off.

I'll bet you a sandwich combo! (Man I love those waffle fries...)

[bchris02]

At least OKC still has the N Penn store. I still like Krispy Kreme from time to time but for me its more of a nostalgia thing. I agree they are great when warm but they are nasty after they cool off. Back in the early 2000s they were all the rage and by the time they started selling them in grocery stores, there was a bit of brand dilution. Starbucks did a similar thing and closed quite a few stores back in 2008 and 2009 but one thing they have going for them is the coffee shop trend is still going strong and its PC unlike donuts. I hope they don't exit the OKC market entirely.

[MonkeesFan]

Walmart donuts taste just as good as Krispy kreme donuts when their cold. So you knew Krispy Kreme was in trouble when they started selling cold donuts by the the dozen at grocery stores.

Speaking of fads, any wagers on when we will start seeing Chick-fil-A or Raising Cains closing restaurants? Their on their way toward overbuilding and saturating the market. I say the Quailsprings Raising Cains thats inside the Mall will be first. lol

Raising Canes is a possibly but Chickfila, no way, it is too popular to close

[BBatesokc]

Haven't been to KK since their opening year on I-240. I always thought a Honey Bun from a c-store popped in the microwave for 30 seconds tasted just as good and was a lot more convenient.

I like the mom and pop variety but I have no sadness to see a franchise such as KK go to the way side.

As for Chick-Fil-A, I'm not as crazy about their product as many people, but I like them fine enough and I don't see them going anywhere but up.

[SoonerDave]

Chick-fil-A, from what I understand, does a pretty thorough "vetting" process when they identify a location for one of its newer, standalone restaurants, particularly as they've transitioned out of malls (or are certainly well into that process). KK expanded like crazy just for the sake of expanding, and it wasn't too long after their OKC opening that their financial issues started emerging - and that was even before the financial meltdown or the food police started telling everyone that things like donuts would kill them. I think there were even some SEC irregularities with some of their financial reports at one time, but I won't swear to that.

The other thing that I think is important to point out is that CFA started getting out of malls a long time ago, meaning they were at least trying to read and adapt to the market. They already knew how to do standalone stores from those that had been around for several years in the SE, so the concept was certainly not alien to them when they opted to expand them toward the west. In contrast, from what I can tell, the KK stores that were built in OK weren't terribly far removed from what they'd built over the last few decades.

I won't make any claims about Raisin' Canes, because my family has been there twice, and didn't like it either time. It looked greasy and unappetizing to me, so I just didn't eat there myself. And when my will-eat-nearly-anything-not-bolted-down teenage son won't go somewhere after a couple of visits, that's a pretty serious indictment. (In contrast, my son does like Chicken Express...and says its much better than RC...said it "tasted fresher" and "wasn't as greasy.")

[ShiroiHikari]

As greasy fast-food chicken type places go, CFA definitely has a better product than Raising Cane's, and at a slightly better price. I don't get how RC stays in business, personally...

I don't go to CFA for, um...reasons...but I won't deny that they seem to know how to run a business. If they hadn't started moving away from malls when they did, they might be dead by now, as malls have been dying slow, painful deaths all over the country for at least 10 years. CFA isn't overexpanding at all; frankly, they could probably use MORE stores in some areas, as the ones I've seen have lines almost all day long. (Though I wouldn't be surprised if people just go there for the, uh, atmosphere. When all is said and done it's still just greasy fried chicken.)

I don't get why donut places seemed to suffer under the influence of the Food Police, but fried chicken joints seem to be doing just fine. Well, fried chicken doesn't have EVIL SUGAR in it, so it's okay, right? :P

[bhawes]

They are building a new one in Midwest City and will look for another location in Moore and Nornam after the Midwest City location open. The old locaton on 240 will be re open as some kind of hamburger joint.

[MonkeesFan]

They are building a new one in Midwest City and will look for another location in Moore and Nornam after the Midwest City location open. The old locaton on 240 will be re open as some kind of hamburger joint.

Interesting, I would rather have Dunkin Donuts in Moore and Norman

[Soonerman]

KK is gross anyways. I bought into the hype at first, but then I quickly realized that pretty much all their donuts suck, and the glazed ones are only good for about five minutes while warm. After that, they're terrible.

I had to laugh a little when they moved the Norman location and then in no time flat, they were closed again and it became Marco's.

Never tried Daylight, though I'd like to. I do like Dunkin', but there aren't any in Norman (does Donut King count?).

Donut King on Lindsay was a Dunkin Donuts a long time ago.

[ShiroiHikari]

They are building a new one in Midwest City and will look for another location in Moore and Nornam after the Midwest City location open. The old locaton on 240 will be re open as some kind of hamburger joint.

Wow, really? They've already tried twice in Norman and failed; you'd think they'd know when to throw in the towel. Apparently not.