For the last few years, I have been hearing and seeing more “flagship” stores coming to NYC. Which is a bit surprising, as flagship usually requires large space, and NYC is very tight when it comes to real estate…but there is always opportunities for business who wants to have their flagship store in the heart of NYC. Krispy Kreme certainly found the way to have their Flagship Store in Times Square!
I was surprised to hear that this location is open 24 hours, but when we actually went there the first time super early in the morning, the store was closed. Then, found out that their ordering window is what is open 24 hours a day. The window is located on the side of the flagship store, and having it open all day and night is convenient for anyone having a sugar craving. We got basic glazed donuts from the window, and the staff was very friendly and efficient.
The Original Glazed ($1.99/each) is very fluffy and airy, not too sweet if you are just having one. Yes, that is the magic number for me… I find most doughnuts in the US to be too sweet. The last doughnut shop we visited was Glaze Donuts, and some of them were a bit too sweet for me. My favorite is still Mister Donut in Japan. I am glad Mister Donut is nowhere near where I live, otherwise, I will be in a serious trouble… Back to Krispy Kreme. Now, I don’t remember the last time I had a donut from Krispy Kreme… Their Original Glazed was pretty darn good, especially a nice fresh one!
On a different day, we went back during the store’s business hours, so we can check out the inside of the flagship store. They are currently limiting the number of people inside the flagship store. Always good to be extra safe. And with that, I was able to walk around the store and check out all the merchandises without struggling through massive amount of people.
They had loads of cute and fun T-shirts to the left. I was very tempted but I managed to stop myself. I have too many T-shirts already… But, if you are a fan of Krispy Kreme, and want to get some cute doughnuts T-shirts, you know where to go to get them! This Krispy Kreme location also has a bathroom, to the left of the wall of T-shirts.
Quick peek at their bathroom… They have two gender-neutral bathrooms. They require a code to open the door, so that only customers can use them. They also had water fountain, and the water bottle filling machine in between, which is pretty cool. The bathroom is large, well-lit, not very clean, but hey, it is Times Square. I liked the mirror with the words that says “You’re A-Glazing” which is pretty fun and cute. They also have a baby changing table in there, at least in the first bathroom that I used.
Back to the store and its merchandise… In addition to all sorts of T-Shirts and whatnot, they also had mugs, towels, hats, bags, keychains, socks, backpacks… You name it, they will most likely have it.
They have a nice seating area in the inside, bench-style. They also have three counters near the entrance for people who wants just have quick donut snacks without sitting down. They seem to have taken down the outdoor eating area, now that the indoor seating is open.
When you are ready to check out and to get in the doughnut ordering line, go to the left of the store, where the line begins near “See Where It All Begins” window.
Now, I thought this was really cool. When you peak inside the round window with green window frame, you see a staff making the doughnut batter. From there, everything seems to be automatic, from shaping the dough, to frying the dough…
You can see the quick video of it here!
Once they are fried, they get glazed, and come out on the red, circular spot where the staffs take them and place them on the display window. Pretty cool to see how that all happens while you wait to get your own doughnuts!
At the end of the line, you get to the ordering counters. Once any of the register becomes available, the staff will call you to come over. Easy and simple process. If you are there just for the doughnuts and nothing else, and if you already know exactly what you want, then I recommend going to the ordering window on the side of the store. It will most likely be faster than waiting in the line in the inside.
When we visited the Kristy Kreme Time Square Flagship Store in April, they had special Oreo doughnuts. And since I am a fan of Oreo, I had to get them…
But, THE doughnut everyone was excited about, available ONLY at this store… The Big Apple Doughnut ($10.99)! I was not planning to get into the hype of it all, but hey, you only live once, so why not… The staff brought it out and show it to us before placing it in a bag. I felt as if I was at some jewelry store. LOL. And yes, it comes in the fancy box.
So, at the end, we came home with Oreo Cookie Glaze: Over-The-Top-Doughnut ($2.49), Oreo Cookie Glaze: Glazed Doughnut ($2.49), The Big Apple Doughnut ($10.99), and of course, the Original Glaze Doughnuts ($1.99/each).
Oreo Cookie Glaze: Over-The-Top Doughnut ($2.49) is an Oreo Cookie Glazed Doughnut topped with Cookies and Kreme filling, drizzled with chocolate icing and finished with an Oreo Cookie wafer. It was very sweet, and I mean VERY sweet. A bit too sweet for me. I did like the Oreo wafer on the top, it really screamed “Oreo Doughnut” with that. The dough felt a bit tight, not so airy nor moist.
Oreo Cookie Glaze: Glazed Doughnut is an Original Glazed Doughnut covered in rich Oreo Cookie Glaze, filled with Cookies and Kreme, and finished with an icing drizzle and Oreo Cookie pieces. Now, from the advertisement photos that I saw, it supposed to have cream filling in the middle, going all around the middle of doughnut. I didn’t see any cream filling at all… And yet, it was overly sweet, once again. Other than the Oreo pieces on the top, it didn’t scream “Oreo Doughnut” since it didn’t have much “Oreo” flavor.
Now, the famous The Big Apple Doughnut ($10.99)… As I mentioned, it comes in a pretty sturdy, fancy box. Well, you are paying for it, so it better be pretty, right? LOL. It certainly makes this doughnut look like a luxurious, exclusive, shiny jewel of some sort. It sure will make a nice souvenir gift, for as long as you can gift it within a day, so that the person you are gifting it to can have it while it is still fresh. Again, this doughnut is offered exclusively at the Krispy Kreme Times Square Flagship Store. It is filled with a Red Delicious flavored Kreme filling and dipped in a sweet, shiny red shimmer mirror glaze. Then topped with a royal icing green leaf and lightly salted pretzel stem.
The mirror glaze was like a loose, melty candy, similar to caramel (syrup) consistency. Much thicker than regular glaze, and stick to your teeth a bit. It tasted full of “artificial flavors”… It had a generous amount of filling, which was fluffy and light, but tasted like sugar. I didn’t get any kind of apple flavor anywhere. Overall, it is really pretty to look at, but the flavor didn’t deliver. Fun to get one, especially for tourist I am sure, but I don’t need to have it again.
At the end, my favorite doughnut from Krispy Kreme is their Original Glaze. They are so fluffy, light, and tasty! Here, the “simple of the best” is true. The staff here was very nice and welcoming, but seems like some of them are still being trained on how to process order. He had to call the manager to process my payment with the Krispy Kreme app, and even after they got it working, I never got the reward point… And when I contacted them on that, no reply… They need to work on customer service… So, with me not getting any rewards for my purchases, I am not eager to go back. But whenever I get the cravings for the Original Glaze, I will be back… What is your favorite Doughnut?
Krispy Kreme Time Square Flagship – 1601 Broadway New York, NY 10019