The Kult of Krispy Kreme   

I was intrigued by your story (Free Press, October/November), because when Krispy Kreme came to town, Max Showalter of Lafayette's Journal and Courier wrote four articles on them.

We refused to do an article on the store's opening. First of all, Krispy Kreme speaks for itself, and we believe that if you're going to do one donut story, you'd have to do one on every restaurant that came to town. But even more important was that Krispy Kreme dropped off no less than 50 dozen donuts on our doorstep from early May, when they broke ground, to mid-June, when the store actually opened. Fifty dozen!

Krispy Kreme gets publicity because editors feel obligated to write about the 50 dozen donuts they've just received (and eaten). It makes you wonder about the integrity and ethics of that organization. I really enjoyed your piece. Thank you.

Amanda Anthony
Assistant campus editor
The Exponent
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana

I just read almost two pages of AJR copy taking us all to task for over-coverage of Krispy Kreme openings, which is all well and good, except for two things: One, people who read the newspapers seem to genuinely get excited about being able to get KK hot doughnuts, which is way better than getting them at grocery stores, if you like this stuff. Two, the credibility of the complaint is reduced by the author's stubborn references to the pastries as donuts instead of doughnuts. No matter what some doughnut shops insist upon calling their product, we call it just one thing.

Irv Leavitt
Reporter
Pioneer Press Newspapers
Glenview, Illinois

Editor's Note: AJR received a few letters about the magazine's spelling of the word "doughnut" as "donut." We appreciate the dedication to proper style. While Merriam Webster's does list "donut" as a variant of "doughnut," with hindsight, and perhaps a second cup of coffee, we agree we should have opted for the more formal spelling. We allowed letter writers here to pick their favorite variety.

Should the 400th Krispy Kreme come to Washington, North Carolina, I hope I get to write the A1 story. In a county that's seen more than 4,000 jobs disappear since 1997, the opening of a Krispy Kreme would mean new jobs. People here have been talking about how wonderful it would be to have a Krispy Kreme, not to mention a Waffle House. Just 22 miles away in Greenville, there is a Krispy Kreme and Waffle House.

I've been eating at Krispy Kremes throughout the South since I was 5. I suspect those who are tired of Krispy Kreme coverage are Dunkin' Donuts fanatics.

By the way, the Krispy Kreme in Greenville just completed renovations. Local newspapers and TV stations covered that story. Our publisher handed out Krispy Kreme glazed donuts, or doughnuts, earlier today, before the latest edition of AJR arrived at my desk. What do I make of that?

Mike Voss
Contributing editor
Washington Daily News
Washington, North Carolina