By Jordan Valinsky for CNN Business
New York (CNN Business)Krispy Kreme is finally about to turn on the world’s largest Hot Light at its new Times Square location. But will anyone see it?That’s a dilemma the beloved doughnut chain probably didn’t expect to deal with when it announced its new flagship location in June 2019. But in the year since, the world has drastically changed. The coronavirus pandemic has torpedoed foot traffic in the once-bustling tourist magnet and has upended people’s relationship with fast food.
Krispy Kreme CEO Mike Tattersfield, isn’t overly worried. Instead he sees the flagship store, opening September 15, as just one part of the brand’s growing “doughnut ecosystem” in the city.”We were thinking about how to manage a mile-long line to enter, but we won’t be facing that today,” he admitted in an interview with CNN Business. “It’s still resilient to unlock new channels of growth,” he said, including delivery that it launched nationwide in late February.
The 4,500-square-foot tourist attraction has a glaze waterfall, a 24-hour street-side pickup window, exclusive merchandise and a doughnut-making theater that produces 4,560 doughnuts an hour. Notably, the stadium-style seating shaped as a doughnut box (seen below) might be blocked off or modified because of the city’s restrictions on indoor dining.
Tattersfield said it’s controlling capacity for social distancing with online reservations to enter the store if it becomes too crowded. Employees will also wear masks and have daily temperature checks. The September opening is more than four months after an originally scheduled May launch date, which was scuttled because of the virus.
he number of average daily visitors to the 10-block Times Square area is increasing slowly from its April low, when it declined 91% compared to the same month a year ago, according to the Times Square Alliance. In July, the visitor count was down 83% compared to 2019. Read more from CNN Business.
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