BOARDMAN Nonprofit groups to dig for Krispy Kreme coupons

Set to open in mid-October, the new store will employ between 80 and 100.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts wants to replace candy bars and magazines as the fund-raiser of choice for some local nonprofit groups this fall.
The North Carolina pastry chain will be giving away coupons for hundreds of dozens of its sugary confections at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the groundbreaking ceremony for its first Youngstown-area store.
But here's the catch: Only marching bands, athletics boosters and other nonprofit groups can participate in the event -- digging for doughnut coupons in a mountain of sand Krispy Kreme will ship in for the event.
The coupons will be packed in travel mugs and most will buy $250 in doughnuts, but one grand-prize winner will dig up a coupon worth $2,000 in doughnuts. Coupons will be limited to one per organization.
Jack Wollitz, a spokesman for Krispy Kreme, said invitations were mailed to between 70 and 80 Mahoning Valley nonprofit groups. Wollitz works for Innis Maggiore Group in Canfield, the local marketing company hired to promote Krispy Kreme's opening.
The North Carolina-based chain also sells its doughnuts to nonprofit groups at a reduced price for fund-raising purposes.
What to look for
Krispy Kreme's new, 4,500-square-foot store will be built at 796 Boardman-Poland Road, the former site of a BP Procare business.
The eatery, set to open in mid-October, will seat 50 and will employ between 80 and 100 workers, most of them full time.
Wollitz said the shop is corporate-owned, not owned by a franchisee, and will feature a production line behind glass so that customers can watch their doughnuts being made.
"Krispy Kreme calls it the doughnut theater experience," he said.
The store layout also includes space for its trademark "Hot Doughnuts Now" sign next to the cash register. A longtime tradition, the light is illuminated to signal a fresh batch of doughnuts is available. Krispy Kreme has a name for that too, mentioned frequently on its Web site: the "hot doughnut experience."
Besides doughnuts, the chain also sells its own brand of coffee and collectibles with the brand name, including shirts, toys and mugs.
Krispy Kreme has been making headlines since the mid-1990s because of its rapid growth, hefty profits and climbing stock prices.
The company reported second-quarter profits this week of $13 million, or 21 cents per share, compared to $8.9 million, or 15 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2002.
Founded in 1937, Krispy Kreme operates more than 305 stores in 41 states, Canada and Australia. In Ohio, Wollitz said, the chain has stores In Columbus, Cleveland, Akron and Toledo.
The chain started selling doughnuts in grocery stores and convenience stores locally about two years ago. It recently opened a bakery in Ravenna to service that market.
vinarsky@vindy.com