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This article was published 18/06/2024 (526 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Within two hours of opening, Krispy Kreme had seen hundreds of customers.

Motorists lined up past the parking lot and beyond a four-way intersection in hopes of entering the drive-thru. Patrons began standing outside the doughnut shop’s doors at 11 a.m. Monday for the 7 a.m. Tuesday opening, the general manager said.

“It’s been extremely busy, but it’s going really, really well,” Larry Geraghty said as customers slowly shuffled by.

He had 35 staff members working; the doughnut line began pumping out pastries at 9 a.m. Monday.

Abbas Afridi left the shop, near the Seasons outlet mall, with a paper bag full of dessert in one hand and an iced coffee in the other.

He’d secured 24 doughnuts after waiting for two hours.

“I thought I’d come now,” he shrugged. “It’s Krispy Kreme. Why not?”

Afridi arrived mere minutes before the countdown to the chain’s grand opening in Winnipeg. The company, started in North Carolina, has opened more than 700 stores. Afridi hadn’t been to any until Tuesday.

He spent a long time observing the doughnut production line, where fried dough passes through a waterfall of glaze. Waiting customers can view the production process.

Afridi was en route to his family, who were anticipating the snacks.

Susan Morrice and her husband, Kevin Morton, hungrily waited for their turn at the till.

“We miss Krispy Kreme,” Morrice, who is retired, said.

She’s bought glazed lemon-filled doughnuts from Indiana, Florida and North Dakota. Krispy Kreme is her favourite doughnut chain.

The retired couple arrived at 465 Sterling Lyon Pkwy. at 7:30 a.m. Morrice, like Afridi, planned to buy 24 doughnuts.

Geraghty was unsure how many doughnuts Krispy Kreme had sold within its first two hours. He didn’t expect the line to waver anytime soon.

He’s worked at Krispy Kremes in Ontario. “This is not uncommon to happen a couple times a week,” he said.

The chain hired workers to direct drive-thru traffic in anticipation of opening day lineups. Those who stood and waited received paper Krispy Kreme hats.

The 4,600-sq.-ft. site can churn out 50,000 doughnuts daily, Geraghty said.

Krispy Kreme opened its first Canadian store in Mississauga, Ont., in 2001. It has unveiled 15 franchise shops across the country since then.

Krispy Kreme confirmed in January 2023 it would open in Winnipeg; since then, it’s been highly anticipated in the Prairie city.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com