Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Do Not Delight Doraville

Doughnut shop dunzo in Doraville.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina based Krispy Kreme has closed its store on Buford Highway in Doraville.  The freestanding location opened in late 2013 in an outparcel of Doraville Plaza. 

Krispy Kreme replaced what was originally built as a Long John Silver's restaurant, but had more recently housed a series of independent eateries.   The doughnut shop was adjacent to an existing Chick-fil-A restaurant and just south of a new McDonald's.   

According to a source with intimate knowledge of the closing, it was a "corporate decision" as this specific Krispy Kreme was corporately owned.  Krispy Kreme closed to the public as of Sunday, January 31st.  

A new Dunkin' Donuts is reportedly still opening on the site of a former Wendy's just north of the Krispy Kreme site.  I say reportedly, as I wrote about the plans in September but the property has sat essentially untouched since.  

Krispy Kreme pales in comparison in both size and sales to that of rival Dunkin' Donuts and offers a far simpler menu. Dunkin' has significantly diversified their menu, adding new sandwiches, hot, cold and frozen beverages, as well as expanded their baked goods selection. 

Krispy Kreme, on the other hand, features a menu almost entirely dedicated to coffee and doughnuts. Earlier this month, Krispy Kreme executives detailed their plans to increase coffee sales, which today account for a mere 5% of total sales. 

Krispy Kreme recently introduced a new prototype location near its Winston-Salem headquarters that it hopes will reinvigorate coffee sales. Among the changes are a new layout a barista, and coffee ground on site.  

While these changes are obviously too little, too late for their Doraville location, perhaps the company will open or franchise a new location in metro Atlanta that features this new look.  

During the late 90s and early 2000s, Krispy Kreme opened a number of new locations including one that opened at Buckhead Exchange on Peachtree Road in Buckhead.  It closed long ago.

Remaining Krispy Kreme locations in metro Atlanta include their popular Ponce de Leon Avenue shop in midtown, as well as locations in Roswell, Marietta, Alpharetta, Decatur, Duluth, Buford and assorted other suburban cities. 

Are you surprised that this Krispy Kreme location closed? What would you like to see open in its place?  Where is your favorite place to get doughnuts?

Please share your thoughts below.