Glazed over: Our love affair with doughnuts

From jelly filled to classic glazed, from Long Johns to Apple Fritters, doughnuts are a sought-after way to feed a sweet tooth.

There are several outlets to help satisfy the craving for the fried goodies in the area, including a couple of new arrivals as well as longtime establishments.

Five hundred people were camped out in line before Cape Girardeau's new Krispy Kreme store, 2122 William St., opened its doors for the first time Tuesday, the store's marketing director Jeremy Pinkston said. The store's opening underscored our region's love affair with the doughy confections.

"I think Krispy Kreme the brand is an iconic brand," Pinkston said. "And we're basically the only franchise that actually has a doughnut machine that you can actually watch the doughnuts being made."

But Krispy Kreme is not the only doughnut seller to get a start in Cape Girardeau so far in 2019.

Doughnuts on display Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019, at The Donut Palace in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

The Donut Palace, 1741 N. Kingshighway St., opened its doors Jan. 15 and already has accumulated some regulars, store franchisee Tim Sith said.

"Sometimes they say that, 'This is my third time coming today,'" Sith said with a laugh.

He said his store's maple bacon doughnuts are popular, but the glazed doughnuts are the best seller.

Krispy Kreme may have just started out in Cape Girardeau, but the doughnut shop was established in 1937; the same year, brothers Paul and Joe Hoeckele founded a doughnut business of their own in Perryville.

Now serving more than just doughnuts, Hoeckele's Bakery & Deli, 1516 Edgemont Blvd #10, has seen four generations of the family working the business.

A crowd waits in line during opening day of Krispy Kreme on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

Angie Hoeckele, co-owner of Hoeckele's, said the brothers started out with a coal fired oven and no indoor restroom, but more than 80 years later the business has expanded to full line bakery and deli.

"We open at 3 a.m. and there are people sitting outside waiting to come in at 3 a.m.," Angie said.

The bakery makes from 250 to 550 dozen doughnuts per day and, Angie said, the biggest seller is probably the glazed.

"There is a person that is responsible for every single doughnut that we make," she said.

Angie said Hoeckele's doughnuts are made fresh every day and never made by a machine.

Southeast Missouri State students Faith Andras of New Orleans and Annie Greening of Des Moines, Iowa, (in foreground) pay a visit to Krispy Kreme on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

Jackson Donuts is a very popular spot in Jackson, with many customers driving from Cape Girardeau to the nearby town just to buy the breakfast treats. But the owners of the small shop on East Jackson Boulevard declined to be interviewed for this story. Another franchise, Dunkin' Donuts, made its debut in 2016, also with much fanfare. When it opened two years ago on Feb. 17, on a day with rain, sleet and snow, the drive-through line stretched around the building, and the parking filled up with cars parking on the street.

All this excitement reinforces the doughnut demand.

"I think doughnuts are comfort food," Angie Hoekle said. "If you're sad, if you're happy, if you've got an occasion to celebrate, doughnuts just make everybody happy."