Derek W.
Yelp
I was heading out of town for the weekend, but wanted to stop by Krispy Kreme for a coffee and a donut for the road ahead.
This Krispy Kreme in Orange is located in the Outlets at Orange. It's on the east side of the outdoor mall on the northwest corner of City Drive S and Justice Center Way. They have a drive thru that circumnavigates the donut shop, and I'm pretty sure I would have been serviced faster there than inside the shop.
I like going inside to see the donut making process behind the display case of donuts. When I came in on Friday morning, there were a couple of customers waiting to order, and it took almost 10 minutes to finally get rung up for my order! There didn't seem to be that many employees working at the time, but they kept preparing boxes of Original Glazed donuts for either pickup orders on the counter or at the drive thru. But they unfortunately didn't pay too much attention to customers waiting at the register.
I had a reward to use on my Krispy Kreme account: a free Passport to Italy donut with any purchase. It was set to expire that day, but the first employee I spoke to interpreted that as a Buy One Get One Free. Well, not quite. I wanted my "any purchase" to be a brewed coffee instead of a second donut. It didn't really matter though because she went off to fill more boxes of donuts and pretty much forgot about me.
Even though I was annoyed with the extended wait, it did give me ample time to decide which of the Passport to Italy donuts to choose. They had three to choose from: Cannoli Inspired, Tiramisu Inspired, and Limone Delight. I probably would have gone for the Limone Delight since it appeared the least sweet, but I chose the Cannoli Inspired instead. When in Rome I guess? lol
After the other two customers were serviced, a different employee, Geraldo, was ready to take my order. There was already a Krispy Kreme takeout bag with the Cannoli Inspired donut on the counter, which I assumed was mine since I told him I wanted that donut. I also told him I wanted the Classic Brewed Coffee.
He asked if I wanted Medium, which is the only size listed on their menu, so it confused me at first. I was intent on getting a Medium because I didn't want *that* much coffee, but I wish they would also specify that Large is available as well. I forgot to ask how much of an upcharge it was, but I believe at Krispy Kreme, it's a nominal 20 cents.
It took a while to pay because it was difficult to get the register to scan my rewards barcode. Geraldo was a little crude in his demeanor, saying "straight" when he really meant "portrait as opposed to landscape". I mean, my phone was straight, but he didn't mention anything about orientation, so service could use some improvement there. He also wasn't too appreciative of my business, but did get my coffee ready about 30 seconds after I paid at the register.
There are a handful of tables inside for you to enjoy your sweet treat(s). I don't know why, but about half the tables had one or two Krispy Kreme hats on them, presumably to greet dine-in customers. I sat at a table with a hat, which I'm keeping just for keepsakes lol.
The Cannoli Inspired donut looked pretty sweet at first glance, but it didn't taste as sweet as it looked. I enjoyed the donut and was glad I got it for free with purchase of the coffee. However, is it really worth $3.19? Hmm tough question. I thought it could have used a little more cannoli flavor, so if I'm presented with this offer again, I'd probably think the Tiramisu Inspired donut would be a better choice.
The Classic Brewed Coffee was your traditional brewed coffee that you could get at any other coffee shop. Geraldo did ask me if I wanted cream & sugar for my coffee, and I simply said two creams. I thought he'd add it in for me, but he added the little creamers in another Krispy Kreme bag, identical to the one that held my Cannoli Inspired donut. He also included a coffee stirrer in the bag, which I somehow missed and went to get one at the rear counter close to the order kiosks.
And speaking of order kiosks, there are two of them in the rear of the shop. One has a sign for credit/contactless payments only, but the other doesn't. I don't know if that means that other kiosk can take cash, but just be prepared to pay by credit card if you prefer to order via kiosk. I didn't see the kiosks until after I ordered, but I would have been willing to give either kiosk a try had I known beforehand.
I paid for a Medium coffee, but thought the cup was a little larger than a Medium. Did they actually give me a Large instead? If so, pleasant surprise! Even if not, just know that the Medium coffee is a reasonable size for the price point.
Overall, it wasn't too bad of a visit to this Krispy Kreme, but the extended wait and the indifferent service left much to be desired. It's not a bad option for sweet treats in the Outlets at Orange, but I'm sure there are better options in the actual outlet mall itself.