That's how long Krispy Kreme-obsessed doughtnut fans will have to wait to buy the hot, melt-in-your-mouth puffy pillows of sweetness in the Pacific Northwest.

The region's first Krispy Kreme store is to open Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 5:30 a.m. in Issaquah. 

Yesterday, an old-fashioned baseball scoreboard was unveiled at the construction site during a groundbreaking ceremony. The sign will count down the days until the Krispy Kreme shop opens.

Doughnut devotees are finding it difficult to be patient.

Gerard Centioli, president and CEO of KremeWorks, the company ushering Krispy Kreme into the region, is deluged daily with 50 to 100 e-mails asking questions about when and where stores will be opened, some even offering to help spread the word on Krispy Kreme.

"Please let me know if you need to get the word out; I am willing to hand out fliers to let everyone know when you are opening," offered one frothing fan.

Another enthusiast writes:

"I don't know how long we can wait for a Washington location to open up. Our mouths are watering, and we're jealous. Jealous of everyone who has a store they can walk, run or drive to and sink their teeth into just one. Any time one of our co-workers leaves town and there is a Krispy Kreme nearby, they bring back a box or two ... but it's never enough!!"

Centioli, a Seattle native with family in Issaquah, knew the doughnuts would be popular, but has been overwhelmed by the reaction.

"The curiosity has been just amazing," said Centioli, who plans to open 10 stores in Washington, along with others in Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii and western Canada.

Another store will open in Federal Way, but Centioli is keeping quiet on the exact date, as well as the location of the other Krispy Kreme sites he has secured.

Krispy Kreme was founded in Winston-Salem, N.C., in 1937. There are 185 stores in 31 states, producing more than 5 million doughnuts each day.

During a recent store opening in Denver, the doughnut-deprived camped out on the sidewalk overnight to be the first to savor the sweet treats.

According to those initiated in the ways of Krispy Kreme, the hot doughnuts with a shower of glaze melt in the mouth like cotton candy.

"For anyone that has had that hot experience, it is unbelievable," sighs Jamey Cutter, who will be the manager at the state's first Krispy Kreme store.

Hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts are already being made in Seattle, at a top-secret location where managers and employees are trained. The address isn't being revealed for fear that fans will show up at the door begging for doughnuts. The doughnuts they do make have been given away to benefit charities or, as was the case yesterday, to promote the new stores.

Even the mayor of Issaquah can't escape the Krispy Kreme craziness.

She was first bombarded with questions about where the doughnut store was going to open, so she went to the city's building and planning department for answers: It's in the East Lake Sammamish Center. Immediately followed the question: "When?"

A neighbor who works at Microsoft interrogates her almost daily. "There is almost a cult following there," Mayor Ava Frisinger said.

Microsoft Corp. is developing a new Issaquah campus about a mile away.

Issaquah's police force is doing little to dodge the doughnut-eating stereotype.

Dave Draveling, deputy police chief, stood with two large boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts tucked under his arm while attending the brief ceremony in Issaquah.

"These are for the mayor," he said. "Really."

Also in the crowd were Dick and Ardis Ashton of Kirkland, who tasted their first Krispy Kreme doughnuts two weeks ago when their daughter returned home from Louisville, Ky., with two dozen glazed doughnuts.

A man at the airport offered her $40 for one of the boxes. She wouldn't give them up.

Dick Ashton said he had a sort of premonition during the night that Krispy Kreme would be making its announcement in Issaquah, and the couple drove over to watch the ceremony -- and snack on some doughnuts.

In full swing, a Krispy Kreme doughnut machine can churn out 270 dozen doughnuts an hour. Each store hires about 100 employees and offers doughnuts 24 hours a day. Although the glistening glazed doughnut is the company's trademark, Krispy Kreme offers 15 varieties of doughnuts including some filled with fruit or cream.

Each original glazed doughnut has 210 calories and 12 grams of fat -- four of those are saturated grams of fat.

David Waterford, who is devoted to the doughnuts, tried to explain exactly how good they are.

"Imagine Dunkin' Donuts, but 10 times better. Imagine Cinnabon making doughnuts. When I was in Las Vegas, I saw people order platefuls of doughnuts. There were always massive, massive lines in the morning."

He swears the doughnuts have an underground cult following.

"Once you have one, you will understand," he said.

Kevin Bruzzone, a KremeWorks partner, explained the charm a little more simply:

"It is one of the pleasures of life," he said.