Hot Doughnuts Now in Jersey City!

Krispy Kreme will open its long-awaited Jersey City shop at 5 a.m. Tuesday. The store, at 95 Christopher Columbus Dr., is the first of six planned Krispy Kreme locations in Bergen and Hudson counties by the franchisees, Entrepreneurs, LLC.

The Jersey City location is Krispy Kreme's only factory store in New Jersey; the state's other Krispy Kreme location, in Collingswood, is a Krispy Kreme "fresh'' store, where doughnuts are made at a factory store (in this case, Delaware), then heated and glazed at each "fresh'' store.

The Jersey City store's imminent opening raised quite a sugary stir on the shop's Facebook page in recent weeks:

Several people asked on Facebook if there would be a "campout,'' with customers lined up outside in the early morning in hope they would be among the first through the door.

The store's response: "There will not be a traditional campout with giveaways and prizes, but there will be mugs available with purchase that come with $.99-cent refills for the life of the mug.''

"We like to do something different instead of what everyone else does,'' said Karl Halligan, one of the doughnut store's co-owners and co-owner of Liberty Prime, also in Jersey City. "We have a great love and desire for Krispy Kreme and always wondered why they weren't in New Jersey.''

Mayor Steven Fulop, while noting he was on a "health kick,'' welcomed the doughnut shop's addition to the city's food scene.

"This doesn't exactly help my low sugar diet, but for Jersey City the business growth has been great, and in this case they employ 50 people,'' he said.

The shop, housed in the former PNC Bank, has the capacity to make 65,000 doughnuts a day. Seating capacity is 45, and Halligan said the shop will place emphasis on its coffee, with regular coffees, lattes and more available. The doughnut shop opens at 5 a.m. Monday-Friday and 6 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

"We're going full blast on our barista station,'' he said. "Our barista station is as good as any.''

Last year, Krispy Kreme announced an expansion plan throughout the United States, with particular focus on the Northeast, Northwest and parts of the Midwest. There are about 300 shops in 41 states, and overall 1,000 shops in 25 countries.

This is not Krispy Kreme's first attempt to gain a foothold in New Jersey. Its first New Jersey store, in Brick, opened in 2003 but later closed. "We are extremely excited about our continued expansion in the Northeast, as we open our first store in New Jersey," a company official said at the time.



The Collingswood outlet opened in 2011. There is a shop at Penn Station in New York City. Pennsylvania locations include Scranton and Bensalem. Krispy Kreme doughnuts can also be found in supermarkets and gas stations up and down the East Coast.

The other planned North Jersey stores will be "fresh'' doughnut shops, with doughnuts made at the Jersey City factory store, according to Halligan. There is no timetable on their opening. Halligan said Edgewater or West New York may be possibilities.

"It may happen, but nothing is scheduled and even near a decision,'' Halligan said later of the five shops.

Krispy Kreme was started by Vernon Rudolph, who bought a doughnut shop in Paducah, Ky., and with a secret yeast-raised doughnut recipe he had acquired in New Orleans, opened shop.

Rudolph later moved the operation to Nashville. In 1937, he and two partners left Music City in a Pontiac, with $200 in cash, several pieces of doughnut-making equipment, and the secret recipe.



The doughnuts -- just-made ones are heralded with stores turning on their "Hot Doughnuts Now'' signs -- have achieved cult status among their fanatical followers.



"The Appalachian love child of the souffle and croissant" is how Melissa Schoor described an Original Glazed doughnut in GQ magazine. "As warm as a June night in Tennessee, as sweet as a blonde belle, it tumbles effortlessly to the bottom of your stomach."

Peter Genovese may be reached at pgenovese@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PeteGenovese or via The Munchmobile @NJ_Munchmobile. Find the Munchmobile on Facebook and Instagram.