Krispy Kreme construction starts in Fresno

Work has started on what will become a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in north Fresno.

The highly anticipated doughnut shop is being built on Blackstone Avenue near Bullard Avenue, in front of the Target. It is scheduled to open in September, according to the franchise owner.

The doughnut shop is wildly popular with many Fresnans who have been anticipating the opening since The Bee first wrote about the doughnut shop coming last summer.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Ted Fellner, a broker with Colliers International who helped the franchisee find property to build on.

“I could do a million deals and never get a call from anybody, but since Krispy Kreme … I have gotten so many calls from people asking me when it’s going to be done,” he said.

Construction workers are grading the dirt with earth movers and preparing the site for a concrete pad.

The Krispy Kreme will be just north of the McDonald’s. A second building is under construction farther north, closer to a car dealership. That building will house a Dickey’s Barbecue Pit and a Jersey Mike’s Subs, along with a few other restaurant and retail spaces.

Fresno once had a Krispy Kreme at what is now the Chick-fil-A at Blackstone and Nees avenues. The new shop near Target will be a revised, smaller version of the Krispy Kreme shops of years past. It will have a drive-thru.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Krispy Kreme construction starts in Fresno."