IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Krispy Kreme to help student deliver its doughnuts out of state

Krispy Kreme will help a college student driving its doughnuts from Iowa to Minnesota pay for college.
/ Source: TODAY

In a state without Krispy Kreme stores, one college student found a way to bring the chain's delicious doughnuts to the people who craved them ... that is until Krispy Kreme told him to stop.

In May, Jayson Gonzalez created a Facebook business page called Krispy Kreme Run Minnesota. It was a place, he said, to connect with every Krispy Kreme fan in the Land of 10,000 Lakes — and then connect them to dozens of doughnuts. According to the page, which has more than 80 good reviews and 4,300 followers, Gonzalez travels hundreds of miles to Krispy Kreme shops in Iowa and then returns to his home state to sell the sweet stash to legions of fans.

There hasn't been Krispy Kreme in the great state of Minnesota for 11 years, but clearly it's something many residents miss. He charged customers between $17-$20 a box and said many customers purchased up to $100 worth of doughnuts at a time. A dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts usually retail for about $8-$10.

One content customer roundly praised Gonzalez for his work satisfying Minnesotans' hankering for America's favorite coffee chain, writing, "This guy drives to Iowa orders over 100 dozen Krispy Kremes and then drives them back to Minnesota and sells them to people. What a legend. Not the hero we deserve but the hero we needed."

Gonzalez had been enjoying a good run (literally traveling about 500 miles round trip per doughnut run), but that all changed last week.

On Thursday, Gonzalez shared some bad news with fans of his Facebook page. He said he had received a call from a Krispy Kreme branch telling him he had to "shut down operations." In a video posted Monday, he noted the request was done so by phone without official documentation. To note, Krispy Kreme does deliver it's own doughnuts now, but only within a 5-mile radius of its stores.

With the unfortunate update, Gonzalez also had an optimistic message to his supporters.

"Keep on spreadin' the hype. Keep on spreading the news," he said. "It was never my intent to make Krispy Kreme seem like the bad person or the bad company in this scenario, right? It is kind of upsetting that I had to stop but it is what it is. One opportunity closes, another one will open. That's kind of the way I look at it."

However, the student's determination and hopeful perspective has caught the attention of more than just Minnesota doughnut fiends.

On Monday, he said he actually got a call from the folks at Krispy Kreme headquarters.

"I am pumped to announce that I will be able to continue the business soon, and have the support of Krispy Kreme. They want to ensure I become an authorized third party seller and make sure the brand is represented well," he wrote.

To make his operation a bit more official, Gonzalez started a GoFundMe page to raise money for a bigger delivery car.

Krispy Kreme issued a statement confirming they would be helping Gonzalez out with his business:

"Today, we reached out to Jayson to express our appreciation for his love of Krispy Kreme and admiration for his entrepreneurial spirit. We are going to help him achieve his goals, which include being debt-free when he graduates in 2021, in part by selling Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Our intent regarding the temporary stoppage of him selling doughnuts was to ensure product quality and regulatory compliance to protect both Jayson and Krispy Kreme. Our main concern is that the doughnuts Jayson sells maintain our high product quality standards, given the distance and manner in which he is transporting and distributing them. So, we are happy to work with Jayson as an independent operator to ensure consistent delivery of our high quality doughnuts to our fans in Minnesota. We wish Jayson great success and we’re thrilled to help him achieve it by donating 500 dozen doughnuts when he re-starts his business."

If this college student has anything to do with it, Minnesota might soon be known as the Land of 10,000 Glazed Originals.