Shake Shack arrives in the Rochester area: Hopefully it doesn't end like like this

Shake Shack is coming, and I know you must be excited as Rochester takes another step into the fast-food big leagues.

But there can be stumbles along the way. Let’s hope that Shake Shack in Rochester doesn’t get Krispy Kreme-d.

Shake Shack, which features burgers, and, yes, shakes, started small in 2001 in New York City and is now at more than 300 locations, including rest stops on the New York State Thruway.

It opens here on July 9 at 245 Clay Road at the corner of Jefferson Road in Henrietta. The restaurant will feature drive-thru and dine-in options.

For its devoted fans, Shake Shack’s arrival is a dream come true.

Forget the date-night drives to the Thruway’s Clifton Springs service area for a burger or two. Henrietta is just a few minutes away.

But, dollars to doughnuts, we’ve been down this road before. Hopes can be fulfilled, only to be dashed. Everyone learned that the hard way with Krispy Kreme. The story of that doughnut’s relatively brief stay here presents a kind of cautionary tale.

It started in April 2000, the fourth month of the new millennium.

The Democrat and Chronicle reported that Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, a popular brand that started in North Carolina, would be opening a store on Jefferson Road in Henrietta. It was to be the second Krispy Kreme in upstate New York after one in Buffalo.

“We love the demographics of Rochester, and the timing was right for the site,” the store’s owner told the newspaper. “Other chains have been successful, and we’re sure we’ll be as successful, if not more.”

As the Dec. 5 opening got closer and closer, the drumroll got louder and louder.

A Democrat and Chronicle spread on Dec. 4 was headlined, “Hot for Krispy Kremes,” with the subhead, “The doughnuts with the fervent fans star in tomorrow’s grand opening here.”

The story began with an anecdote about someone driving down Jefferson Road and spotting a sign announcing Krispy Kreme’s pending arrival. The driver screamed with joy and almost veered off the road.

Another Krispy Kreme fan proclaimed, “You can’t eat just one. They go down much too easily.”

The next day the Democrat and Chronicle’s generally reserved editorial page gushed over Krispy Kreme in an endorsement headlined, “Nirvana with a hole.”

Nirvana? Oh, yes. “Krispy Kreme are as light as sweetness itself,” the editorial board declared.

It then maligned the area’s favorite team in order to sing the doughnut’s praises: “Unlike the Bills, after all, Krispy Kreme wins every game.” Ouch.

Krispy Kreme certainly won on opening day. A photo showed a Kodak worker sporting a large Krispy Kreme sign as he left the store with a box of doughnuts. The photo said, “Traffic at the store was backed up even after the evening rush hour.”

A few days later, a company official told the newspaper that the store was selling 63,600 doughnuts a day. The wait-time in the drive-through was up to an hour. It took 30 minutes to go through the in-store line. Off-duty sheriff’s officers were hired to help with traffic control.

The company would go on to open a second store in Greece. All was well, until it wasn’t.

The Greece store closed in 2005, and then in September 2007, the Henrietta store closed.

In a mournful tone, the Democrat and Chronicle spread the news: “At 11 a.m. Thursday, the ‘hot now’ sign at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, 1150 Jefferson Road, went dark.”

The story explained that Krispy Kreme had lost “much of its cachet in recent years as Americans veered away from some high carbohydrate foods.”

(Still, while many Krispy Kreme stores were closed, the company has carried on, and in March it announced a partnership that will bring its doughnuts to McDonald’s restaurants, the rollout starting later this year.)

Just as Krispy Kreme followed its Henrietta opening with a second restaurant in Greece, Shake Shack, too, will have a restaurant in Greece next year.

History is repeating itself. First Henrietta. Then Greece. Then, cross your fingers.

Get excited, go to the grand opening, but don’t forget the cruel lesson of Krispy Kreme. All good things, even Nirvana, can come to an end.

From his home in Geneseo, Livingston County, retired senior editor Jim Memmott writes Remarkable Rochester about who we were, who we are. He can be reached at jmemmott@gannett.com or write Box 274, Geneseo, NY 14454.