The coffeehouse chain and doughnut company will open this fall in Block 37, a development situated in the Loop community region. The area last saw a Krispy Kreme shop in 2005. The Archer Heights (another neighbourhood in Chicago) shop was shut down in 2010.
Krispy Kreme is one of the most loved and established doughnut chains in America. Based in North Carolina and dating back to 1937, this ever-popular chain is known for its trademark glazed doughnuts, along with coffee drinks and multiple flavors of fried sweet dough rings.
Compared to other outlets of the company, the Block 37 shop will be different. The location will only have a 1,000-square-foot kitchen area. Since the space is a bit too constricted for a full-fledged kitchen, the store won’t be making doughnuts afresh. Instead, doughnuts will be sourced by the management from Krispy Kreme’s suburban locations. Besides offering doughnuts, the Block 37 location would also be serving frozen drinks and coffee.
As mentioned earlier, Krispy Kreme was nowhere to be seen in Chicago for more than 10 years, thanks to renewed cravings of Chicagoans that classic Krispy Kreme was not able to fully cater to. The company announced its return to Chicago in 2015 with eight new stores. This Block 37 store is one of the eight. It’s not the first, since three stores have been already opened in Chicago suburbs, with the most recent store being the one in October 2018 in Hillside. This Loop store will be the fourth, with plans to open more going forward – which include at least two in the city.
Krispy Kreme is currently in the process of a big global expansion and the July 2019 store redesign in North Carolina was the company’s first in more than 10 years. It expanded its menu, adding doughnut ice cream sandwich and extravagant milkshakes. The Chicago that the company is making a comeback to isn’t the Chicago of old. The city is now flooded with stores of Doughnut Vault, Firecakes, Donuts & Coffee, and other acclaimed local purveyors. Though Glazed and Infused exited Chicago, the other remaining extremely popular local chains would give Krispy Kreme a run for its money.
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