You might want to avoid Krispy Kreme

[Pea-n-Me]

Depends. The supermarkets around here have all sorts of setups, including deli counters where everything can be seen. They do claim that bread is baked on site and donuts are made on site, but that may be in the back using conveyer belt style equipment that doesn't need the kind of skills other than unloading a box of shortening and using the mixer. Some of the strange ones I've seen are more or less hexagonal ones where I'm sure the cutting dies do that to maximize waste and not having to place excess dough back where it has to be mixed again.

At a typical Krispy Kreme, everything is done in view of customers. But it's mostly a machine making it and not an employee doing it by hand. The process is all computer controlled now with fryer temps and mechanical application of the glaze. But I've been to independent donut shops where I saw the employee dropping the dough in and then dipping in whatever glaze or sprinkles.

Also - donuts at mom and pop shops are remarkably consistent because they all buy from maybe less than a half dozen makers of donut mixes like Pillsbury, Dawn, BakeMark, Krusteaz, Rich's, etc. And there really isn't that much of a secret to it as they're almost all identical. Once at a donut shop I noticed they had a calendar from one of the major donut companies, and it showed donuts as well as bags of mixes, shortening, sprinkles, glazes, etc. The only key is to know from feel how long it needs to stay in the fryer before it's scooped out. A few local places around here supposedly make their donuts from scratch, but even then it's just big bags of commercial flour and following fairly simple recipes.

There are thousands of supermarkets so I won’t profess to know what each one does. But I can say that many supermarket bakeries have “slugs” of products (could be bread, muffins, donuts, bagels, almost anything) that come in already made and partially baked, and all they have to do is stick them in the oven for a little while, then call them “fresh baked”. But again, for consistency, the real work is done by others. And yes, KK is mostly automated, I know.

I will disagree somewhat with your last paragraph, because just using mixes (which most do) doesn’t guarantee a consistent product. There is still a lot that goes into baking things. Even chefs hate baking, and there’s a reason for that. It looks easier than it actually is. And, as we’ve seen here, have some sort of screw up, and you’re kind of screwed. People want and expect to go into a bakery and get a top notch product every time. That is so not the case everywhere today.

 

[Christine]

We didn't get our first store up here until 2001. Good to know they used to be good though.

We didn't really have stores back then, not like now. They apparently just had these big donut bakeries and they supplied donuts to various places. We used to sell them for our sports clubs around the neighborhood. They were made fresh, boxed up in these standard size boxes, and delivered to the sports organizations, then we go door to door and sell. That was the ony way you could get them. One type, only glazed, and incredibly fresh.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

DD’s boyfriend just arrived and brought some of these!!





Strangely enough, they came from a casino in CT! (We’re in MA)

 

[RedAngie]

I think I’ve seen KK donuts for sale at various C-stores in my travels, maybe Sheetz. Plus at some supermarkets too.

I don’t know if they’re delivered fresh from a local KK franchisee, or shipped already baked and frozen to the stores.

 

[RedAngie]

DD’s boyfriend just arrived and brought some of these!!

View attachment 647183

View attachment 647184

Strangely enough, they came from a casino in CT! (We’re in MA)

So your box was short too??

 

[mom2rtk]

So your box was short too??

No, it was short two.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

^ Two funny. Those were the two that got sucked down before I could get the picture! Lol

 

[DisneyOma]

Central Texas had Czech immigrants. The sausage rolls in Texas are descended from the klobásníks (some call them klobasniky) they made. Klobásníks are sausages wrapped in kolache dough. The most famous kolache shop in Texas is in West, Texas which had a large number Czech immigrants. The store is called Czech Stop and usually has a long line. They have a huge selection. West also has a very popular Czech heritage festival every fall called West Fest.

My daughter in Texas introduced us to kolaches for breakfast on one of our visits, and now they are a must every time!

 

[sasywtch]

Dunkin Donuts took a big hit here at the same time at Krispy Kreme. We have 3 Dunkin Donuts left here. But they are building one just over a mile from my house, so soon it will be 4. Winchells was the historic big doughnut chain here, and they went away before the Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts. Winchells is still around, but not here. THAT was the doughnut shop the cops hung out at.

The only Winchell's I remember was on Marconi? Anyway, I differ from you and the cops hung out at Marie's on Watt

 

[tvguy]

The only Winchell's I remember was on Marconi? Anyway, I differ from you and the cops hung out at Marie's on Watt

Maries makes great donuts, but I've only had them at work so they were all from the Freeport location since it closer. Too many Winchells to remember them all. Watt and Whitney. Fulton just south of Hurley come to mind. Last time I was in one before they closed was the Watt and Whitney Location and two CHP officers were in there, one of them whipping down tables! His partner said he was auditioning for a post retirement job!

 

[mrodgers]

Is there really no good donut places by you that you have to resort to Greasy Kreme?

We have stale Dunkin Donuts, and a new one opening up on the other side of town so you don't have to travel so far for stale donuts.

We had a Donut Connection franchise that was phenomenal. I bought donuts at 4 pm, stuck them in the trunk of the car, left at 3 am, pulled over at 8 am and they were fresher than anything Dunkin ever has. They went out of business from being forced to shut down because donuts are dangerous.

Luckily someone bought the place and opened it back up recently. I haven't had the opportunity to try them out yet since reopening. Ryan Covert who ran and lost in 2020 for PA State Rep purchased it and reopened along with reopening another well liked greasy spoon restaurant.

 

[GreatLakes]

Avoiding Krispy Kreme is just good life advice.

 

[mrodgers]

When using a drive through you always have to check the order. We have been shorted items many times. I always do a quick check before leaving. Learned that lesson after picking up dinner, driving home and dd's entire order was missed. Had to go back. Now I always check.

I'm sure they will replace the doughnuts for you.

I can say I have never been shorted at any drive-thru in my life. Quite the opposite when I pulled up to the window and Faith said, "You should have said who you were..." Then the following nights I had to tell her to stop as bag after bag after bag was handed out to me for my Whopper and fry order, LOL.

 

[mrodgers]

My sister said that, with her MIL, it wasn’t a good meal unless she maid the waitress cry.

Hard to believe, but some people are just like that.

That would be my mother. I won't go to a restaurant with her, or take her to the store any more.

 

[bcla]

I can say I have never been shorted at any drive-thru in my life. Quite the opposite when I pulled up to the window and Faith said, "You should have said who you were..." Then the following nights I had to tell her to stop as bag after bag after bag was handed out to me for my Whopper and fry order, LOL.

I don't recall that either, but my main problem with drive thrus is how long they take. I've been there when my kid was sleeping in my car and a drive thru seemed like the best option, or when it was the only available means to pick up a mobile order. For some reason I see drivers who will wait for 20-30 minutes to avoid getting out of their cars, when there's clearly a short line inside and multiple cashiers.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I can say I have never been shorted at any drive-thru in my life. Quite the opposite when I pulled up to the window and Faith said, "You should have said who you were..." Then the following nights I had to tell her to stop as bag after bag after bag was handed out to me for my Whopper and fry order, LOL.

You must always been getting our order We are shorted all the time and 9x out of 10, it’s my meal.

 

[disneyseniors]

I think that fast food places like Krispy Creme, McDonalds, etc are hiring anyone who is breathing! There are help wanted signs everywhere in our town, and the really good restaurants are only operating on 5 day or less weeks due to no one who is qualified. I think that plays a big part in your problem?
FYI: I took my elderly Mother through the drive through at KFC, she ordered a chicken dinner and I didn't get anything. Then I dropped her off at home with her dinner. I paid before checking the sack. She told me later, after the fact, that it looked like someone had eaten some of the dinner!!!! I didn't call them, but we will never be back. The thought that someone put a partially eaten dinner in our bag makes me sick. There seems to be a lot of young (and older no prejudice here) workers that are not properly trained or just don't care.

 

[kymom99]

Every time we get shorted it’s my husbands meal. He gets mad but won’t let me go back.

We have buskins around here. They have good coffee cakes and themed cookies, but I don’t like their donuts. I got some for the kids at school once and they were heavy and dry.

 

[Babs Johnson]

My sister said that, with her MIL, it wasn’t a good meal unless she maid the waitress cry.

Hard to believe, but some people are just like that.

Yep, my sister's ex-MIL was bad in restaurants too. Not necessarily making the waitresses cry, but giving them a hard time over the most minor things. The stories I heard.

One I heard in person concerned a small shop opened by a recent immigrant. A young guy and his family from Turkey opened a Mediterranean grocery. The MIL was ethnic Armenian. When she found out he was Turkish she said she's going to make it her business to close the store down.

Even SHE wasn't born yet when the Armenian genocide was taking place, and she was born in the US to boot. But 70ish years later she's triggered by a guy who was probably born in the early 60s.

Like many small businesses, the store failed after about five years. By that time my sister was divorced but I have no doubt the MIL went around boasting that she personally forced them to close.

 

[kdonnel]

The update no one really cares about:

I tried for several days to get the location I visited to answer the phone. That never happened. No matter the time of day called, no one answered. It is located in a place I don't normally visit so no hope of talking to a manager/owner in a timely matter, oh well.

Yesterday I did get a response from the complaint I made on the corporate site. They offered up an apology and a free dozen doughnuts. I will visit a different location for the free dozen and make sure to check the box before leaving the drive thru.

I asked that they make sure they let the location know they had served a box that had been either eaten from or served from since I was unable to talk to someone locally.

It was at that point the the corporate person said "What did you just say?"

They had assumed I had eaten the 6 missing doughnuts and was complaining about the marks on the remaining doughnuts made by the straw like instrument they use to pick doughnuts off the conveyor belt. At that point the person I spoke to said he would make sure the owner of that franchise understood what had happened and said eating or serving doughnuts from a packaged dozen was not a procedure taught to the franchise owners to prevent this very situation.

Life lessons learned:
1. Continue to avoid drive thrus
2. If not possible to avoid a drive thru, no matter how annoying it is to check, open every bag and box to verify the order is correct before leaving the window.