Beyond doughnuts

Alicia Robinson

The world could use a little sugar coating once in a while. Or

sprinkles and cream filling.

All those things that make life sweeter are now available at

Newport Beach’s first Krispy Kreme doughnut shop. It opened Tuesday

in the Bluffs Shopping Center on Bison Avenue, and customers weren’t

lacking.

When the store opened its doors at 6 a.m. the first day, there

were about 20 people waiting, store manager Laura Chavez said.

“They were here about 4:30 [a.m.],” she said.

The Newport Beach store is one of 23 in Southern California, but

it’s the first “fresh shop” -- stocked with doughnuts that are made

at another store rather than on the premises -- in the area.

About 15 customers came into the store in the course of 10 minutes

on Tuesday afternoon. Among them were Guy Rein and Peggy Calhoun of

Newport Beach.

“They’re the best doughnuts on earth,” Rein said. “They’re

probably addictive. We try to stay away because we eat too many.”

“They’re fresh, they’re very tasty, they’re like they just made

them 10 minutes ago,” Calhoun agreed. “I don’t buy doughnuts that

much, but these are a treat.”

Helen Zwieback of Irvine said her husband, Charles, runs a tailor

shop across the street and they sometimes come to the Bluffs to eat.

“We heard that Krispy Kreme doughnuts are really great,” she said.

“They are.”

The doughnut shop will be a nice addition to the shopping center,

said Chris Brown, who works for Oranco Development, the Costa

Mesa-based contractor that built the Krispy Kreme store.

Though his work there is done, he expects to return to the store

as a customer.

“We always support the stores that we build,” he said.

Chavez and her customers had different ideas about what makes

Krispy Kreme doughnuts so popular.

“They’re very fluffy, very soft,” Chavez said. “They melt in your

mouth.”

Customers also like the coffee shop atmosphere of the store, she

said.

The Krispy Kreme Doughnut shop, 1316 Bison Ave., is open from 6

a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays; from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays; and from 7

a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.