Krispy Kreme location closes permanently due to poor sales

The Hot Light at the Krispy Kreme location on East Franklin Street is off for good.

The doughnut shop, which celebrated its grand opening in August 2010, closed its doors Sunday, following the suit of several other Franklin Street businesses this year such as Qdoba Mexican Grill, Caribou Coffee and Cold Stone Creamery.

Lafeea Watson, manager of public relations at the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., said that after careful consideration, the franchise decided not to renew its lease at its only Chapel Hill location.

“The closing date was selected because it aligned with the end of the University’s spring semester,” Watson said. “It’s ahead of the summer months when customer traffic drastically declines with students and faculty returning home or vacationing for most of the season.”

The property formerly occupied by the franchise at 157 E. Franklin St. is now available for lease. Munch Family Properties LLC, the company owning the 4,000 square-foot place, would not comment on the shop’s closure or the sale of the property.

Precious Revis, manager of the Franklin Street Krispy Kreme, said customer traffic had already been in severe decline throughout the semester, and this factor was largely responsible for the closure.

“Businesswise we were not doing so well,” Revis said. “We weren’t seeing as many customers or a high volume of sales.”

Watson said that despite the closure of this location, the franchise is actively seeking a new, more suitable location to develop its business in Chapel Hill.

“We want to assure everyone that we are committed to this community and will continue to seek out suitable opportunities to better serve our Chapel Hill fans.”

Watson said in the meantime residents can visit other Triangle locations, and Krispy Kreme products will remain available at various on-campus locations such as the Pit Stop next to the Student Stores.

Any fundraising orders will now be serviced by the Durham location.

UNC junior Cierra Dungee said she was a loyal customer at the shop and that its closure comes as a surprise.

“Oh my gosh, I’m just so devastated,” Dungee said. “Krispy Kreme was a comfort food for me. I would go there when I’d get a bad grade or when I was sad about something. Now I’m not going to have that comfort anymore.”

Dungee said Krispy Kreme’s closure will leave another void on Franklin Street.

“There’s not going to be another place that can replace Krispy Kreme for me,” she said.

“But hopefully we’ll get more visitors on Franklin this year, and we won’t lose another business.”

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