Nina ScimenesThe doughnut icon continues to grow as the 274th Krispy Kreme Doughnuts rolled into Springfield, Pa. on Friday, Jan. 31. Complete with a heated tent filled with merchandise, a steel drum band to welcome hundreds of customers to the twisting line and the store-locator lights illuminating the sky, this event was not to be overlooked.
Among those present were Channel 6 ABC and Dick Sheeran of Channel 3 CBS who seemed to be enjoying his cinnamon apple-filled doughnut very much as he displayed it to the at-home audience on the opposite end of the camera.
Also present were two Philadelphia radio stations, 96.5 The Point and 92.5 XTU. They were playing games, giving away prizes and signing doughnut-eaters up to win tickets to events such as the George Strait concert on Feb. 7 and a Philadelphia Flyers game.
Being that this blessed event began at 5:30 a.m., I was shocked by the amount of people that rolled out of bed to attend. The heated tent was filled with hungry people who have tasted pure bliss and came back for seconds or thirds or fourths. The openings of Krispy Kreme stores are truly a cultural phenomenon. What other food chain can boast that their customers line up at their door the night before simply to be recognized as being the first ones to step foot in the new store?
It should be noted that Krispy Kreme does provide incentive to that very first person in line at store openings. The prize was given to Eric Brady of Springfield, Pa. and included a T-shirt, sweatshirt, pair of boxers, mug and coupons entitling him to a dozen free doughnuts every week for a year. Now that is what I call a lucky man. One may also call him extremely patient because he waited in the Krispy Kreme driveway since 2 a.m. the previous morning, a grand total of 27 hours.
Some may wonder why it is such a to-do to open a doughnut store. These are the people that have not tasted a Krispy Kreme doughnut fresh off of the conveyor belt. “They’re the best things in the entire world,” sophomore Monica Alivernini said, “They’re light and you can eat a lot of them.”
Juanita Nassardeen, employee at the Cottman Avenue Krispy Kreme, was one of 50 lending an expert hand at the Springfield opening. “We are here to educate our customers about Krispy Kreme and to let them know how wonderful our doughnuts are,” Nassardeen said.
For those wondering how many more of these little heaven-sent doughnut shops will be opening in our area in the near future, owner Rocco Fiorentino said that there will be “15 opening in the next few years, the next of which will be in Brick, N.J..”
Anyone else up for a roadtrip to Brick?
