Answer Man: Krispy Kreme doughnut emergency? More DMV questions?

John Boyle
Asheville Citizen Times
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A reader asks if the Krispy Kreme doughnut store on Patton Avenue has been having trouble with its doughnut machine, but Answer Man John Boyle found everything in order there on a recent visit.


Question: What’s going on with Asheville’s Krispy Kreme on Patton Avenue? They’re open, but they very rarely have their, “Hot doughnuts now,”  light on any more, and when they do, the doughnuts are small, dense, and misshapen. Seemingly, their doughnut machine has been out of order for many months. The building was recently remodeled, but they apparently rebuilt the building around their old, broken-down machine. Even the grocery store where I shop has stopped carrying them. When will they be back up and running?

My answer: Look, I appreciate the use of email in this situation, as it is fairly expedient. But in the future, when we have an emergency of this magnitude, please opt for the doughnut searchlight in the sky. Similar to the bat light used to summon Batman to a public safety emergency, this doughnut-shaped beacon calls yours truly out of his recliner to investigate almost instantaneously. (I do have to don my special sweat pants and doughnut costume first, as they have built-in doughnut pockets.) Thank you for allowing me to share this important public safety announcement.

Real answer: This did, of course, require some personal investigation, which I conducted June 25 by venturing to this location and ordering six doughnuts and some coffee.

I found the Patton Avenue store tidy and clean, and the staff attentive and friendly, although the computer system that runs the registers did lock up for a couple of minutes.

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As for the doughnuts, they were well-formed, nicely fluffy and just packed full of sugar and fat, all while containing almost no calories. Ahem, well maybe a few.

I had previously called the store and briefly spoke with a manager, but she said, "We cannot answer any questions for outside publications," and referred me to their website.

It took two weeks to get a response through the media page.

"Thank you for your patience as we’ve been investigating this matter," Mike Thompson, brand manager for retail marketing at Krispy Kreme, said via email. "My sincerest apologies for our delayed response."

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Thompson also asked to reach out to the reader who sent the question, so clearly they're taking this doughnut emergency seriously.

While a reader complained recently about "misshapen" doughnuts at the Patton Avenue Krispy Kreme, Answer Man John Boyle found them to be standard sized and well made on a recent visit.

"It’s always our goal to provide the most awesome doughnut experience," Thompson said. "There have not been any significant modifications to our Patton Avenue shop, which we’ve discovered is operating with excellence."

That was also my experience on Friday.

So, what happened? Maybe an off-day? A misshapen batch?

Who knows...

I will note that Krispy Kreme does sell mini-doughnuts, and they are indeed smaller than the regular version. But when I looked around inside the store, the doughnut machine was cranking out the sugar bombs just fine, and a woman in front of me ordered four dozen hot glazed, and they were served up in just a few minutes.

The bottom line? I think a full-blown crisis has been averted. Time for me to stow the doughnut suit and retire to the recliner.

Let me tell you, when the sugar buzz wears off, things get ugly...

Question: Several readers have written to me about delays in getting their permanent licenses after renewals, with the inconvenience often stretching months. So I asked the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles a series of questions, including: What is the average time to fulfill a driver’s license renewal in North Carolina? How many total employees does the North Carolina DMV have? What were the numbers for 2020? 2019? How many North Carolina drivers’ licenses have expired this year? What were the numbers for 2020 and 2019? What is the North Carolina DMV’s current total operating budget? What was the budget in the preceding two fiscal years? 

My answer: Yes, this is what happens when the DMV gets prickly about answering questions — I send them more.

Real answer: First of all, DMV does not track information about average time to fulfill a driver's license renewal, according to spokesman John Brockwell.

Regarding number of positions or a possible reduction in employees, which some readers suggested may contribute to license renewal delays, Brockwell said, "The total number of full-time positions in 2019 were 1,564. The total number of full-time positions in 2020 were 1,563. The total number of full-time positions currently (June 2021) is 1,562."

So, that's not it.

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As far as how many licenses expired this year and the past two, Brockwell said that will require a formal public records request "since it may take several hours to gather by the IT team."

Finally, below are the N.C. DMV's total operating budgets for the most recent three fiscal years.

FY21 - $142,602,058.

FY20 - $142,771,770.

FY19 - $127,946,774.


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