AMERICAN doughnut chain Krispy Kreme is to open its first ever Dorset branch in Bournemouth.
The famous company founded in North Carolina in 1937 will open its doors on May 23 in the old Cafe La Strada unit in Old Christchurch Road in the town centre.
Krispy Kreme has secured a lease for the unoccupied building and has applied to BCP Council to install its green branding and logo on the shop front along with an awning.
A design and access statement by the company said having a Krispy Kreme in Bournemouth town centre will “bring vibrancy back to a redundant space”.
Documents detail the shop will include a takeaway service and café serving doughnuts as well as hot and cold drinks.
Although it sells its doughnuts from small selling points in supermarkets across the county, Krispy Kreme doesn’t actually have its own brick-and-mortar shop in the county.
In fact, the nearest shops are in Southampton and a larger kiosk a shopping centre in Exeter.
Read more: Bournemouth's Cafe La Strada cafe and restaurant closes
Having entered the UK market in 2003, Krispy Kreme now operates more than 130 shops in the UK and Ireland.
It has a presence in more than 1,500 other points of access thanks to partnerships with the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons.
Krispy Kreme describes itself as “one of the most beloved and well-known sweet treat brands in the world”.
Its move to Bournemouth town centre marks another empty unit that is being taken up after years of decline.
Elsewhere in Old Christchurch Road, the former House of Fraser unit (which used to have a Krispy Kreme stand) is being converted into student accommodation and 10 retail units right now.
Across the road from that, the former Topshop and Topman are being converted into a Greggs, as reported yesterday.
Further down the road in The Square, around 80 people will be employed as The Botanist restaurant will soon open in Bobby’s.
Bosses at Bobby’s expect the new restaurant, which is being built right now, to be open “mid to late” 2024.
Family-run Café La Strada, the business that occupied the unit where Krispy Kreme is going to open, closed late last year after being issued with a notice of forfeiture.
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