First in for the big bite

By Rebecca Fraser
DIEHARD doughnut lovers have created a traffic jam in Narre Warren at Krispy Kreme, being prepared to queue for hours for the world-renowned sugar fix.
Last Thursday the US doughnut maker opened its first Victorian store at Fountain Gate with dozens of people camping overnight in a bid to be the first in line.
Thornbury resident Claire Campbell was first through the door on foot, while Cranbourne’s Nathanael Stegmann and David Findlay, along with Kyle and Giang Nguyen and Ronnie Reed of Narre Warren, were first to park in the drive-through.
The dedicated team arrived at the store at 6.30pm on Tuesday and waited until the gates were opened at 7am the following day to allow them in for the opening on Thursday morning.
However, when the gates opened a dispute erupted with another car over who had arrived first.
Mr Findlay said the group had been filming a documentary of the wait and were able to prove they were there first by showing the video.
For being first in line, the two groups were awarded golden tickets and will now receive one free box of doughnuts each week for a year.
Mr Findlay said one person had to remain in the car at all times otherwise they would have lost their spot.
He said they all took it in turns to go home to shower and they had run a pretty organised operation with other friends delivering food.
Mr Findlay said the wait had been well worthwhile but this week conceded he was already a bit sick of eating doughnuts.
The store opened at 6.30am on Thursday with Casey mayor Kevin Bradford officially cutting the doughnut ribbon three hours later.
The News spoke to drivers from as far away as Yarraville and Thomastown on the opening morning who were prepared to wait in the long queue to stock up on doughnuts and coffee.
A spokesperson for Krispy Kreme said that visitors from Canberra, country Victoria and New South Wales had also come down for the opening.
Police, traffic controllers and security were called in to monitor the queue of cars waiting in the 24-hour drive-through and those braving the cold and choosing to queue on foot.
The long lines continued well into the weekend with hundreds of cars still in the drive-through at 2am on Sunday.
Sergeant Pat McGavigan of Casey Traffic Management Unit said police had spoken to drivers from as far away as Hoppers Crossing, Heidelberg, Coburg and Altona.
He said Overland Drive had become extremely busy and the opening had created traffic chaos.
Sgt McGavigan said Krispy Kreme had put a lot of planning into the opening but the turnout had far exceeded expectations.
He thanked motorists for their cooperation.