In a sweet deal that took effect last month, Krispy Kremes have come to CMC, delivered weekday mornings to The Hub, warm and fresh in their telltale polka dot boxes. The icing on the cake? The partnership with the North Carolina-based doughnut chain is a CMC exclusive at The Claremont Colleges, says Eddie Harrison, Hub food services manager.

To prepare for the onslaught, Harrison, Hub assistant manager Laura Brady, and shift manager Fran Copeland drove to the chain's headquarters in the City of Industry to watch the creation of the treats, "just in case someone asks us about the product," Harrison said. To help promote the first week of campus sales, Harrison and associate dean of campus life Jeff Huang, handed out Krispy Kreme T-shirts during halftime at a Stags basketball game.

"We're very excited about Krispy Kreme at The Hub," Huang recently said. "It's tough to keep up with the demand!"

The back-door service costs a bit more: a dozen original glazed run $7 (as opposed to $5.49 a dozen at the nearest Ontario Mills location), and it's $3.50 per four-pack of original glazed or chocolate. Two-packs of glazed are $2, and appear to be the snack of choice because they sell out the fastest, says Harrison, who must phone in next-day orders by 2 p.m. daily.

But it seems even the budget-minded CMCers don't mind the splurge for fresh doughnuts, and "some students use their flex dollars," to purchase the snacks, Harrison says. For a select time, coupons will be placed on dozen-count boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts at The Hub, entitling coupon-bearers to a free dozen at the nearest official outlet.

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