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Like many new Krispy Kreme stores at the time, the first one that opened in Massachusetts four years ago drew heavy media attention and lines of hungry customers.
But by the time the company baked its final doughnut in Massachusetts last month in Dedham, it seemed like no one was paying attention anymore. There were no TV crews or write-ups in the Boston papers. The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based company didn’t even issue a formal press release.
When asked why the chain closed its last store in Massachusetts and its final Rhode Island shop in Cranston, spokesman Brian Little provided just a cursory response: ”These two locations were closed as part of our turnaround.”
Of course, there’s a lot more to the story. To some extent, Krispy Kreme’s failure to break into the New England market - you still can buy doughnuts in some locations in Connecticut, but that’s about it - has been mirrored in other parts of the country where the company tried to expand too quickly.
Krispy Kreme executives also underestimated Dunkin’ Donuts and how firmly rooted the Canton, Mass.-based chain is in many New Englanders’ daily routines.
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