Tacoma, WA (March 10, 2003) - Gerard Centioli, 48, heads the ownership group of Tacoma's first Krispy Kreme doughnut outlet.

At the recent groundbreaking, he noted the crowd was at least half-again as large as any he'd seen before.

"I expected this would be similar to (the recently opened Seattle store at) 125th and Aurora," he said. "But the passion people here have for the product is inexplicable."

As an "area developer," Centioli owns the rights to open 10 Krispy Kreme stores in Washington and others in Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii and British Columbia.

He's a Seattle native and 1976 graduate of Gonzaga University, and he heads both the restaurant-development firm Icon LLC of Chicago and a partnership with Krispy Kreme named KremeWorks.

He spoke to The News Tribune after the groundbreaking of the 4,400-square-foot store, which is located at the site of the former Tacoma Mall Theater.

Q: Just what is the passion that some people have for Krispy Kreme?

A: We believe it's all about the doughnut, the hot-doughnut experience.

It's comfort food. It's a very affordable indulgence. There aren't many things you can buy a dozen of for $5.99, especially the best in its class.

Q: How did you get started in the business?

A: My father was a restaurateur. If there was anything about food, we'd go see it and eat it. He brought both Kentucky Fried Chicken and Gil's 19-cent hamburgers to Seattle.

Q: As far as investing in food service and acquiring brands or franchises, what does Icon LLC look for?

A: The company needs to be best in class. And it needs to have stood the test of time.

Q: Can you offer some of the details about the investment you're making?

A: KremeWorks is owned by Krispy Kreme and by Icon, with Icon holding the majority.

The area development fee is $10,000 per store, so with 30 stores that's $300,000. Then we pay a royalty of 4.5 percent of sales, plus other fees.

We buy all the mixes for the doughnuts, and the equipment, from Krispy Kreme.

As to the Tacoma store, we'll have invested $2.5 million. That's for everything but the land. We've got a 30-year lease.

Q: What other plans do you have for Krispy Kreme in the South Sound?

A: We'll be breaking ground for our Puyallup store in a few weeks. I think you'll ultimately see us do something south of here. We'll see how these work.

Q: How has it been working with the city?

A: Tacoma has been great to deal with. They made it clear they wanted us here. It's obviously a city with vision.

And this is exactly the kind of location we want to be in. There's the traffic, the retail, big boxes and growth. It's all here.

We've felt welcomed everywhere we've gone, but this is clearly the most welcome we've felt. It makes you feel good about the business prospects.

Q: One of the grievances against Krispy Kreme is the hassle of the crowds. Do you have any plans to mitigate this?

A: We'll have off-duty police to direct traffic for as long as we need to. Things will be orderly.

It's important to the customer that the line move. The busiest part of the day starts in the early morning, and we'll have the drive-through open 24 hours.

Q: Some companies feel an obligation to support nonprofit enterprises in the areas they serve. Some don't. Where does KremeWorks fit in?

A: You have to reinvest dollars into the community. We'll be supporting schools, the Boys & Girls Clubs, Mary Bridge. We'll be supporting causes in our area, whether in Tacoma or Puyallup.

We're a soft touch, and we pride ourselves in it.

Q: When do you open?

A: June 24, Tuesday. We always open on a Tuesday. It's a Krispy Kreme thing.