By Steve Jansen
The one and only
I've never understood the standing-in-line-to-buy-stuff phenomenon.
Call me a selfish snob, but I absolutely relish my leisure time, plus I'm an extremely impatient person when it comes to queuing with other people. So why would I waste my time smelling some dude's B.O. while waiting to watch a Star Wars movie or for the grand opening of an IKEA store? Even if John Coltrane returned from the dead to perform, I would probably last in line for two hours tops. (OK, a confession: VNSA Book Sale, five o'clock in the morning, three consecutive years from 2002-2004. Don’t tell a soul.)
Maybe I don't get it, but all of this talk about waiting in line for product always reminds me of Krispy Kreme. A few years ago when people were "kreme-ing" themselves for the glazed treats, two of my Mesa friends asked if I would like to drive out their way to stand in an hour-long line for the doughnuts. It went something like this:
Them: So you coming?
Me: To stand in line for an hour for a stupid doughnut?
Them: Yeah.
Me: What's so special about the doughnuts?
Them: They're soooo good.
Me: But they’re just doughnuts, right?
Them: Yeah.
Me: And?
Them: So you coming?
Needless to say, I never set foot inside of Krispy Kreme, classifying the joint in the I’ve-never-tried-it-but-still-hate-it category.
Then came the low carb diet fad. Krispy Kreme went bye-bye. I was happy.
But then a funny thing happened. When the company decided to close store after store because doughnuts didn't fit into the "lifetime maintenance" phase of Atkins, I felt bad for all of the little dough people who ran the franchises.
Now that Krispy Kreme is making a comeback, I was a more-than-willing participant to check out the one and only Arizona location out on Superstition Springs Boulevard in Mesa.
I did not use a hands-free device to capture this image. Yes, the car was in motion.
I was in a hurry so I rushed into the charmingly cute (for a chain) shop (with no line!) and ordered a cheap-o coffee and even cheaper raspberry glazed doughnut. Both the cup of Joe and the gooey treat were awesome, and for under $3, how can I complain?
Did I mention there was no line?
