ATLANTA — The long road to bringing back an iconic piece of Ponce De Leon Avenue in Atlanta reached its destination Tuesday morning with the official reopening of the historic Krispy Kreme that burned down in an arson in 2021.
The doors opened at 6 a.m. to a sizeable line of donut-lovers, and 11Alive's Jerry Carnes was on scene.
He reported the line was about three-dozen people long by the time the store - which is owned by Shaquille O'Neal - opened.
This historic location opened more than 60 years ago, opening the same year as Atlanta Fulton County Stadium in 1965. It was one of the first Krispy Kreme locations established outside the young company's main bases of operation in Winston-Salem, N.C. and Nashville.
Its location in Atlanta, before the wider spread of the company, made it a draw for people throughout the Southeast.
The store has long been a fixture in the fabric of Atlanta life - when thousands of mourners came to the city for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s funeral in April 1968, the Krispy Kreme donated 150 dozen donuts to local churches who were trying to keep the people fed.
The location fell victim to an alleged arson fire in February 2021. Months later in July, the Ponce shop caught on fire a second time for unknown reason.
A photo of an arson suspect was later released, but the person was never caught.
“We made a promise to the Ponce community and all of Atlanta and we’re delivering on it,” said Dave Skena, Krispy Kreme Global Chief Brand Officer.
What are the hours?
The shop will be open on Tuesday, Oct. 10 and will be open seven days a week.
Here are the hours:
- Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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