Krispy Kreme opens May 19 in Tri-Cities

What will it take to win free doughnuts for a year from the Tri-Cities’ first Krispy Kreme store?

A specially issued wristband and the ability to stand in line for up to 15 hours, for starters.

As part of the new doughnut shop’s promotions, the first customer in the door at 6 a.m. May 19 will receive a free dozen glazed doughnuts each week for a year, along with a commemorative T-shirt and the distinction of turning on the “Hot Doughnuts NOW” sign.

The next 99 people will receive a dozen glazed doughnuts each month for a year.

But the opportunity to be among the first customers begins the day before. There are a list of rules for folks wanting to wait for that first batch to roll off the line.

And, yes, there will be line checks.

Starting at 3 p.m. May 18, store employees will begin registering customers and doling out wristbands for folks who want to stand in line at the outlet in Richland’s Queensgate district.

Then a free pizza party with a DJ and other activities starts at 6 p.m.

Franchise owners Scott and Crystal Carroll, creators of MyFroYo frozen yogurt shops, announced in June plans to open three of the North Carolina-based shops in Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties in the next three years.

Krispy Kreme has more than 260 U.S. shops that serve 42 doughnut varieties, including cake, glazed and filled.

Right now, the closest outlets to the Tri-Cities are in Spokane, Seattle and Portland.

“I ran a 10K race with my daughter last Saturday and the people standing in front of us were talking about Krispy Kreme,” Crystal Carroll said. “Everywhere in town people are talking about it.”

So if you’re all in on trying to score some of those famous glazed pastries, here’s Krispy Kreme’s rules:

“We will do line checks randomly,” Carroll said.

This story was originally published May 16, 2015 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Krispy Kreme opens May 19 in Tri-Cities."