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Krispy Kreme, the North Carolina doughnut company whose conquest of Long Island went down in a glaze of glory six years ago, is growing again.
Founded in 1937, Krispy Kreme built a Koresh-like following in the Southeast over the next six decades, offering gooey, fresh-from-the-fat treats that devotees claimed were so ethereal, you needed a cigarette afterward.
But the chain's "Hot Doughnuts Now" lights began to dim in the early 2000s as an overaggressive expansion saturated new markets and undercut local franchisees by bulk-selling to supermarkets and convenience stores.
Shop owners also accused corporate headquarters of quarter-end channel stuffing and overpricing their required purchases of doughnut-making equipment and batter mix.
The last of four Long Island shops went dark in 2006 as part of a national retrenchment that trimmed U.S. outlets by a third. Investors scoffed at the company's...