On Friday, Krispy Kreme closed its only location in Montreal, at Marché Central, giving its 50 employees only a few days’ notice that they would be losing their jobs.
While some herald the closing as a victory for healthy eating, and others are pointing out that it’s part of a larger restructuring, I think there’s a simpler explanation for the location’s failure:
It was built in the most pedestrial-unfriendly location for a store on the Island of Montreal.
Marché Central is one of the last great car malls in the centre of the city. Just above the Acadie Circle, the mall is barely accessible by public transit, has streets with no sidewalks, traffic lights with no provisions for pedestrians, and huge parking lots separating its buildings.
While this style works for Loblaws, Wal-Mart and Réno Dépôt, fresh Krispy Kreme is something that would appeal more to walk-in traffic downtown than a semi-suburban strip mall.
Open a location downtown, or at somewhere people walk a lot, and those donuts will sell like … hotcakes.
Those of you who want your fix can find Krispy Kreme locations at Carrefour Laval and on Auguste Ave. in Greenfield Park.
Keep in mind that Krispy Kreme was born and bred in U.S. suburbia. The whole concept revolves around the idea of the drive through, where you buy the donuts by the dozen.
Few people go to KK for “a donut.” The fact that they have a little cafe area is just a concession to modern-day oddballs. People (at least U.S. people) go to KK for a BAG of donuts.
You say that the Marché Central is “one of the last great car malls in the centre of the city,” but it’s actually quite new. There wasn’t anything there except for the wholesale market 10 years ago.
Hopefully, with the new Chabanel commuter train station and the density of the garment district across the tracks, the Marché Central can one day densify and become something other that a bit of suburban sprawl in the middle of the city. At the very least, transit and pedestrian connections should be improved. Maybe some kind of bus terminal could be built at Rockland with an overpass over the 40.
Let’s not forget that KK is also embroiled in yet another corporate book-cooking contest.
And then there’s the fact that Timmies is just unsurpassable compared to 45% fat KK doughnuts. I’ll take a detour for Timmies, not for KK.
They’re not cooking their books. They’re baking them, then deep-frying them, flipping them over and running them through a wall of goo.
Touché