Krispy Kreme fills hole in Reno

Reno, already the home of the top-performing Krispy Kreme store in a five-state region, is likely to get another location of the doughnut company.

The timing and location of a new store remain to be decided.

The company that holds the franchise for the region has plenty on its plate everything from opening new states for Krispy Kreme to building a wholesale distribution business.

But Lincoln Spoor, a principal in Las Vegas-based L & L Enterprises, said a new agreement between his company and North Carolina's Krispy Kreme calls for the development of about a half dozen new stores in Nevada and Utah.

L&L Enterprises' franchise agreement also covers Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, where the company just opened a store its 15th in the region in Boise.

At the same time, Spoor said his company is working hard to build the wholesale business that delivers Krispy Kreme products to grocers, convenience stores and other venues.

That's a natural outgrowth of the business, he said, as customers initially drawn to the stores for the theater of doughnutmaking begin to look for more convenient locations to purchase the products.

But, he added, wholesale distribution is a different business from Krispy Kreme retail stores as it demands trucks, drivers, outside sales reps and an additional accounting structure.

At the same time, however, Spoor views wholesale distribution as key to the growth of his stores because foot traffic in the stores remains fairly constant after the waning of the euphoria that typically surrounds the opening of a Krispy Kreme outlet.

Another growth opportunity, Spoor said, is likely to be "Fresh Stops" smaller stores where doughnuts aren't made on the premises but instead are delivered fresh several times a day.

L&L Enterprises sees the potential for about 30 of those stores in Nevada and Utah.

A one-time investment banker who still recalls his first Krispy Kreme Doughnut Alexandria, Va., in 1992 Spoor won the five-state franchise through persistence.

"It took me almost six years of calling and calling and calling to get the franchise," he said.

"I fell in love with everything about it.

I was so passionate about it."

At the time, Krispy Kreme didn't have a retail store west of Mississippi, and no one had hard data on how well the doughnuts might be accepted in the region.

The answer: Very well enough so to blow away every projection Spoor had made in his business plan.

But growth has brought the challenges of developing the right team.

"It took me a ton of time," Spoor said.

"It's been all trial and error."

He's confident now that he has a team in place to allow his company to accelerate development of new stores.