Krispy Kreme may be here in '03
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
The local franchisee for doughnut maker Krispy Kreme is moving ahead with plans to establish its first Hawai'i stores, which could open as early as next year.
Chicago-based ICON LLC, which signed an agreement with Krispy Kreme for a Hawai'i franchise two years ago, plans to open two stores on O'ahu and one on Maui as part of its development agreement.
Gerard Centioli, a Chicago restaurateur and ICON's president and chief executive officer, said he has lease or purchase agreements, subject to permitting and other approvals, with landowners.
Centioli declined to disclose the two tentative O'ahu locations, but local real estate brokers said ICON has looked at sites including Pearlridge Center, Ala Moana Center and a property on Nimitz Highway.
The proposed Maui store, a 4,000-square-foot store undergoing design planning, is slated to be built as part of the second phase of Triangle Square at Dairy Road and Haleakala Highway across from Costco in Kahului, according to plans recently submitted to the Maui County Planning Department.
Representatives of Triangle Square developer A&B Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin Inc., did not return a call for comment yesterday regarding the proposed store.
Centioli and Krispy Kreme initially projected that the Hawai'i stores wouldn't likely be developed until sometime between 2005 and 2007, but Centioli, who was in town yesterday, said the first store could be open within a year.
"We are very bullish about the Hawaiian market and anxious to move forward," Centioli said.
ICON in October opened its first Krispy Kreme store, in the Seattle suburb of Issaquah. Centioli said the store broke a franchise record for weekly sales with $454,000 in revenue. ICON's second Krispy Kreme store is set to open later this month in Spokane, Wash.
Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. has 226 stores in 34 states. The company anticipates opening 59 more stores, mostly through franchisees, according to a recent public filing by the company.
The doughnut maker reported that its stores had average weekly sales last year of $53,000, or nearly $2.8 million on an annual basis.
The company, which sells 20 or so varieties of doughnuts, has built a devout consumer following for its signature glazed doughnut, which Krispy Kreme advertises with neon "Hot Doughnuts Now" signs during various times of the day when fresh glazed doughnuts are being cooked.
"People on the Mainland go nuts about it," said local retail consultant Stephany Sofos. "They'll do really well here."
