SWEETNESS — A 5,000-square-foot Krispy Kreme factory store on U.S. Route 22 East in Springfield is expected to produce 100,000 doughnuts a day and feature a window view of the production process.
SPRINGFIELD, NJ — Mornings in Springfield are about to get a little sweeter as a Krispy Kreme is set to open on U.S. Route 22.
The famed North Carolina-based doughnut chain will be opening a 5,000-square-foot factory store that will be the anchor portion of a new food plaza. It will feature a view of the assembly line so that customers can witness the doughnut-making process, as well as a drive-through window, according to John Ponczek, the plaza’s broker.
“It will be just like looking at your car go through the car wash,” Ponczek said in a phone interview on Oct. 16. “You’ll be able to see the entire process from the dough-making to the glazing.”
The super store, which will be located at 25 Route 22 East, adjacent to the Rahway River Parkway and Black Brook Park, anticipates producing around 100,000 doughnuts a day.
“To my knowledge, this will be one of the largest locations on the East Coast,” Ponczek said. “It will be a flagship location and will most likely draw quite a crowd.”
Along with its famed doughnuts, Krispy Kreme also sells bagels and coffee.
Springfield Mayor Richard Huber has hopes that the new doughnut shop will attract more business to the township.
“I think the Krispy Kreme will be a great addition to Springfield,” Richard Huber said in an interview on Oct. 31. “I have hopes that other businesses will want to come to the area because of it.”
The Springfield location will be the third Krispy Kreme in the state. There are two in Collingswood that opened in 2011, and one in Jersey City, which opened just last year.
The new plaza will have two entrances and two exits from Route 22 East, and Huber said it should not affect traffic.
“I don’t believe that we should be worried about the traffic,” he said. “There’s already traffic on Route 22, but this will be on the eastbound side which doesn’t have lights, so I don’t think it will be a concern.”
The food plaza will feature a “food court-like set up,” according to Ponczek, with the other businesses being Moe’s Southwest Grill, 1000 Degree Pizza, Poe Sushi and Carvel Ice Cream. The new plaza is part of a 125,000-square-foot complex that features a Kiddie Academy preschool and Sky Zone trampoline facility.
He said he is not sure if all the businesses will be able to coordinate their grand openings, but he said the Krispy Kreme will be the first to open at the plaza.
Construction is expected to be completed in about 100 days.
Multiple emails sent to Krispy Kreme were not answered.