Krispy Kreme plans a return to Minnesota

Get your sticky fingers ready for those airy, crackly, sweet treats served by the boxful: It looks like Krispy Kreme is staging a Twin Cities comeback with a new location planned for Fridley.

The North Carolina-based chain has submitted plans to convert a former CVS location at 5696 University Av. NE. into a retail shop with a drive-thru and a doughnut factory. The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal first reported the story.

After years of ups and downs, Krispy Kreme is once again in expansion mode. Earlier this year, the company announced a partnership with McDonald’s to bring fresh doughnuts to its fast-food restaurants nationwide by the end of 2026. Krispy Kreme’s doughnut factories, like the one slated to be part of the Fridley location, supply fresh doughnuts to other retail locations, allowing such partnerships.

With more than 350 stores nationwide, Krispy Kreme burst onto the local scene in April 2002, opening its first Minnesota store in Maple Grove. Fandom came out in full force on opening day, with nearly 500 people waiting in line — some camping outside and willingly lining up for more than an hour for the chance to score a box. The drive-thru was just as busy, with cars stretching four to five blocks.

By the end of the day, more than 150,000 doughnuts were sold, according to the Star Tribune, and the location set an opening week sales record for the company, said Krispy Kreme’s CEO at the time.

Krispy Kreme continued to expand, opening more stand-alone suburban locations in Apple Valley, Bloomington’s Mall of America, Coon Rapids, Eden Prairie and New Brighton and supplying local businesses, including Cub Foods, with its glazed goods. Within a few years the doughnut tide turned, and stores began to close. The original Maple Grove store was the last one standing, shuttering in 2008.

Since then, Krispy Kreme fans have had to drive more than 200 miles to satisfy their cravings; the nearest location being in Ankeny, Iowa.

No opening date has been set for the Fridley location; the Minnesota Star Tribune has reached out to Krispy Kreme for additional details.