Published: November 03, 2009 09:19 pm      

Time to eat the doughnuts

Doughnut factory is first Krispy Kreme in this part of Southern Indiana

“When everybody walks in, I want you to say good morning Clarksville, we’re happy to be here.”

Those last words of encouragement spoken just before 5 a.m. Tuesday by Jason Swegman — Kentucky region market manager for Krispy Kreme — brought to life the employees that had been making final preparations for opening the Clarksville Krispy Kreme doughnut factory.

As workers tightened aprons and readied cash registers, Swegman opened the door to the first customers who were shadowed in the predawn.

The line of people waiting outside the store, located at 1122 Veterans Parkway, proved there’s more than just a few doughnut fanatics in Southern Indiana, and that they are happy Krispy Kreme is in Clarksville.

For the first time, the North Carolina-based chain has a location in this part of Southern Indiana. It’s only the second Krispy Kreme to open in Louisville Metro in 44 years.

Counting customers that were waiting in the drive-thru line, there were about 50 people outside Krispy Kreme when the store opened and the pastry seekers flooded inside.

Swegman said he’s accustomed to seeing sizable crowds for store openings.

“This is really going to get a lot of people excited, and we’re really excited,” he said.

Clarksville resident Brandon McDonald planned on being a little sleepy at work after he grabbed a place in line at 10:30 p.m. Monday, where he stayed until getting a glazed doughnut before sunrise Tuesday, which freed him to seek rest back home.

“I’ll get maybe an hour of sleep,” McDonald said. “It’s well worth the wait. Krispy Kreme is by far my favorite doughnut. I’ll be here almost every morning.”

Krispy Kreme offered several prizes to reward the first customers of the day.

The Hoehn family — profiled in Tuesday editions of The Evening News and Tribune — will receive a weekly gift of a dozen glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts for one year, as the Jeffersonville family of five was the first in line.

The family was able to keep their position by working shifts after setting up their tent at 7 a.m. Sunday. Cory Hoehn, father of three, said they decided if they were going to wait, they might as well make the most out of it.

“We don’t do a lot of camping and here we are in the parking lot of this Krispy Kreme,” he said. “This is totally off the radar for us.”

After the Hoehns received the top prize, the next 11 customers were awarded a dozen doughnuts a month for one year, and staff handed out T-shirts to the first 100 customers.

Ironically, the second customers were neighbors of the Hoehns. They were the first in line at the Krispy Kreme drive-thru after arriving Monday night.

The 2,000-square-foot Clarksville store will employ 20 to 25 people, Swegman said. It’s open from 5 a.m.. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

“Krispy Kreme is excited to be opening a doughnut factory in Clarksville,” stated Cindy Bay, senior vice president of company store operations for Krispy Kreme, in a news release. “We are thrilled to be expanding our presence in this area, and look forward to the continued success of our new, smaller retail concept shops.”

The doughnuts will not actually be made in Clarksville, as previously reported in The Evening News. They’ll be partially prepared at a larger doughnut factory on Seventh Street Road in Louisville and delivered multiple times a day. Once in Clarksville, they are placed on a conveyor, sent through an oven, then covered in hot glaze when they come out on the other side.