Popular doughnut brand Krispy Kreme is expanding its presence in Canada with new locations coming to Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton and Laval.
Levi Hetrick, Chief Growth Officer & Operating Partner for Krispy Kreme Canada, said Krispy Kreme has two main formats in Canada: a Theatre Hub and a Doughnut Café.
“A Theatre Hub is where our doughnuts are made fresh from scratch every day. Guests can watch doughnuts rise as they go through the proofer, drop into the fryer, and travel down the conveyor line passing through a waterfall of glaze. Depending on the time of day, guests can also eat doughnuts fresh off the line while they are still hot – that is a main point of differentiation for Krispy Kreme vs any other doughnut shop and where the term “Theatre” comes from. You know we are making Original Glazed doughnuts when the “Hot Light” is on and glowing red. In addition to serving doughnuts, coffee and other beverages on-site, the Theatre Hub also serves as the doughnut factory for Doughnut Café shops, wholesale, mainly Costco, and our Fundraising program,” he said.
“A Doughnut Café is a location that doesn’t make doughnuts on-site, but receives two or more deliveries of fresh doughnuts every day. It offers a full product lineup including coffee and other beverages. We try to choose locations that are convenient for folks to stop in on the way to work, school, home, or just to hang out for a break. One secret tip – you can request for your doughnut to be heated in the microwave for eight seconds to try to replicate the “fresh off the line” experience. It isn’t exactly the same, but it does improve the experience in my opinion.”
There are 14 stores in Canada. One of those is in British Columbia with a different franchise group.
Hetrick’s group has four locations in Montreal, one in Quebec City, and eight in the Greater Toronto Area.
He said one location is currently under construction in Winnipeg which will open in the next few months.
Krispy Kreme first entered the Calgary market in 2004 near Sunridge Mall. The shop was popular, but ultimately closed during a broader re-organization in 2008, he said.
“Calgary has been a development priority for re-entry for a while and with help from Mike Kehoe and Monica Blachut at Fairfield Commercial we were able to find a great drive-thru site on Macleod Trail. The site is the former Ginger Beef location (9629 Macleod Trail) immediately adjacent to Schanks Sports Grill and just down the road from Ranchman’s Cookhouse,” he said.
“There’s no timeline for opening yet as we are just getting into the permit phase, but I will have updates as our construction schedules take shape. Targeting the first half of 2025 for opening.
“We knew when we wanted to come back that we wanted to be pretty central (in Calgary). A convenient location. A retail node that is accessible to as many people as possible. Macleod Trail being a main artery for Calgary was the prime spot to look. Chinook Centre to the north and Southcentre Mall to the south and Deerfoot Meadows over to the east, we kind of lucked out with a really great location. Drive-thru is a big part of our business so having the ability to have a drive-thru was pretty important to us.”
The Calgary location will be about the same size as Winnipeg at 4,600 square feet.
“It will be almost an identical building as Winnipeg. We’ve created this prototype now that we plan to bring to Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary. I’ve got another site in Hamilton and Laval all in the next kind of 18 months we’ll be looking to open those,” explained Hetrick.
“It’s basically the same building. Brand new prototype for us. The first one is in Winnipeg and looking to bring that across a few different markets.”
The Theatre Hub concept will be in Winnipeg and Calgary.
“The reason why we call it a Hub is because it will also be where when we deliver to Costco or other doughnut cafes or other wholesale outlets, that’s where all the doughnuts for that market will be made,” said Hetrick.
“The other important thing for Krispy Kreme is everything is made fresh every day. We’re constantly making doughnuts.”
I could see Krispy Kreme achieving some success in Canada with better quality doughnuts tailored to this market, particularly with consumers that aren’t satisfied with Tim Hortons. It would be great to see Krispy Kreme Canada offer vegan options as they do in the UK, which would also better position them against premium, local doughnut shops.
There’s also supposed to be a Theatre location opening in Etobicoke soon as 2458 Lake Shore Blvd West. I wonder when it’s going to open since they submitted plans to the city almost a year ago.
Is Ottawa, the capital of Canada not worth Krispy kreme?
😭😭😭
Why not Niagara Falls? We really could use a theatre style Krispy Kreme as there isn’t one in the area and with the year round tourists it would be a perfect location. Lots of vacant land in the area too.
I vouch for a Niagara Falls location – the area of Mcleod near the new Costco would be an ideal location. Far enough away from the main tourist areas for locals to easily get to, but still close to the QEW.
I want one in Ottawa how come Krispy Kreme won’t come into Ottawa I am very upset
As a proud Hamiltonian, I have been waiting very patiently for our location to open since I heard rumours over a year ago. I can not wait!!! No more need to drive to Mississauga to get my fix lol
Come to Niagara Falls Canada ☺️
Kitchener Waterloo is the most important city in Canada. How can you not be here?
It’s unfair to leave london ontario out. We have anxiously been waiting for an actual krispy kreme store to open here as well. Don’t let us down!
They should look to open 1 in Rockland Ontario
Was there supposed to be one planned for Ottawa too? Definitely is a market with to have at least two or three locations (Tanger Outlet near the Canadian Tire Centre, Lansdowne Park and maybe in the east end somewhere (Orleans)
I have heard of a Krispy Kreme location opening in Edmonton since forever. I will believe it when I see it. I used to go to the one in Calgary. And every time I ask when one will open in Edmonton, I would get some date that never materializes. Lame.
Would love to have one in Vancouver
Make sure when you open in Calgary you send the doughnuts out to Walmart in Cochrane. We live Krispy Kreme!
Please bring Kristy Keene to Ottawa😃