Inside Krispy Kreme's Glaze Waterfall Wonderland In Times Square

Does New York City really need, or even want, a new 4,500-square-foot Krispy Kreme donut megastore in Times Square right now? The flagship of a huge chain—1,000+ shops and counting!—and its massive video-sign screaming out over Broadway has arrived at a time when small businesses here have never had it rougher.

Judging by the crowds that have lined up in properly distanced fashion during opening week, however, the answer seems to be — as an older gentleman said when I offered him a donut on the street — "yeah sure, why the hell not." And this when Times Square itself remains mostly devoid of tourists, and the surrounding office towers still largely empty of workers. So what gives?

Well for one thing, this new Krispy Kreme is loud, flashy, and promises some cheap, sweet, empty entertainment during the COVID era. The heart of the action is the swirling, circular conveyor belt upon which donuts get plopped from the deep fryer, then trundled down for a pass through the majestic Glaze Waterfall, then round and round up they go into... I don't actually know where they go, but presumably they find their way into the cases at one of the shop's six donut ordering stations.

Six is a lot of donut counters for one store to have, but it does keep the line moving. And there are ample other opportunities to spend your money here as well, from Krispy Kreme-branded t-shirts and "men's lounge pants" to coffee mugs and umbrellas. But you came here for donuts, and you don't even need to enter the indoor space for those if you feel unsafe doing so — there's a pickup window outside on Broadway for pre-orders, and it's open all night.

Someday you'll be able to sit and eat inside the place, perched within a giant Krispy Kreme box, but for now you'll have to make do with a half dozen standing tables set up curbside atop a field of plastic grass. Almost forgot: everyone who wants one gets a free paper hat to wear during their Krispy Kreme experience, though their sideways orientation makes for a tricky selfie situation.

As for the donuts themselves, Krispy Kreme offers flavors like Glazed, Chocolate or Strawberry Iced with Sprinkles, Chocolate Iced Kreme Filled, Glazed Blueberry Cake, Resse's Chocolate Peanut Butter, and, right now, several limited time Pumpkin-Spice creations. And then there's the Big Apple Donut, injected with apple-flavored Kreme with "Coney Island candy apple glaze" on top. It comes in its own fancy jewel box. The price for your boosterism? $10.99.

Before buying this NYC exclusive I tried to understand why this normal-looking, normal-sized donut cost eleven bucks, but the best my enthusiastic counter person could come up with was: "It's Times Square baby, we're going big!!!" which didn't really answer my question but also totally did.

The Big Apple was by far the worst thing I ate here — the only stale donut I encountered, the apple Kreme filling was flavorless, the stem just a pretzel thin stick. I haven't been scammed this hard around these parts since the ol' Three-card Monte days.

In the end, it must be said that all Krispy Kreme donuts are totally second rate. They're sweet, that's for sure, and except for the Big Apple fiasco, they're pretty fresh, which is a good thing — so I guess I can see it, if you find yourself in the middle of the night in Times Square during a pandemic and want something to shove into your mouth, sure, you'd wind up here.

Other than that, though, go instead to Peter Pan in Greenpoint to satisfy your donut desires, or Doughnut Project in the West Village, or Super Nice in East Harlem, or Supermoon on the Lower East Side, or Daily Provisions in Gramercy and the Upper West Side, or Comfortland in Astoria, or, really, anywhere in your neighborhood that you love, and/or would hate to lose. In normal times NYC can easily accommodate both local treasures and mediocre national chains, but for now it's the small businesses that really need our support.

The Krispy Kreme flagship is located at 1601 Broadway, at the corner of West 48th Street, and is currently open 24/7 (krispykreme.com)