Krispy Kreme to open flagship store with largest glaze waterfall in NYC

NEW YORK — Krispy Kreme is taking on The City That Never Sleeps.

The doughnut shop announced it will open a 4,500‑square-foot location in Times Square on Sept. 15.

The company said Wednesday that the global flagship shop will offer an “immersive and interactive doughnut experience.”

Customers can expect to see the world’s largest signature Hot Light, a doughnut-making theater that produces 4,560 doughnuts an hour and stadium‑style seating inside a faux Krispy Kreme dozens box.

The store will be open 24 hours with a curbside window for walk-up ordering and pickup and will feature the largest “glazed waterfall” made for the company’s iconic Original Glazed doughnuts.

The Time Square location will also serve a special-edition “Big Apple” doughnut at the flagship store only.

Krispy Kreme CEO Michael Tattersfield said the store was supposed to open in May but plans were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We said earlier this year that when New York City and Times Square are ready, we’ll be ready,” he said.

Tattersfield said the store will enforce limitations and sanitation procedures amid COVID-19 to keep staff and clients safe.

“We were thinking about how to manage a mile-long line to enter, but we won’t be facing that today,” he told CNN.

The new shop is one of eight locations the company has planned as a part of an expansion in the city to be completed by the end of the year. So far, five other shops have already opened.

Tattersfield said he thinks it will take more than a year for the shop to see the amount of traffic that was previously anticipated due to the pandemic’s effect on travel and dining. But, he said, “it‘s still resilient to unlock new channels of growth.”

“We all need a little joy right now, and with that, we welcome the Krispy Kreme flagship location to the heart of this great city,” Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, said in a press release. “We’re thrilled for New Yorkers and visitors to enjoy the one-of-a-kind treats and the famous Hot Light experience. This iconic brand will make Times Square sweeter and we can’t wait to take a bite.”

Cox Media Group