In a recent column in the Boston Globe, the food writer marveled at how Krispy Kreme has achieved its mystical appeal. He wrote, with a combination of amusement and amazement, about the media frenzy Krispy Kreme generates when it goes into new markets. The company starts with the premise that they are in the 'donut-making theater business'. Every detail goes toward supporting that premise -- from the exterior red neon sign proclaiming, "Hot Donuts Now" to the 'waterfall of sugar' each donut passes through on its way to your mouth. His enthusiasm prompted me to visit a Krispy Kreme store in a part of the country lucky enough to have one of these outfits.

I had been to Krispy Kreme before, but the article sensitized me to just how remarkable this focused little concept is. They offer fewer than ten choices, including a specialty flavor. How that must simplify their operations! They actually have more choices of branded merchandise to buy than donuts to ingest. You are encouraged to comment on your 'experience' (what music to my ears), rather than rate your visit. And the joint is jumpin' with kids, moms, business people and other assorted carboholics.

But that is the beauty of the 'Theory of Everything'. It stipulates that everything in an operation is tied together and experienced. The guests experience the restaurant as 'a whole'. They develop impressions, form opinions, and evolve complex feelings about you. It is theater. It may be lousy theater, but that is up to you. When all the conceptual details are woven into a distinctive, coherent, theatrical whole, you become the place to be.

Krispy Kreme even turns their relative lack of market penetration into a point of differentiation. They are a cult event worth seeking out.

The keys to using 'The Theory of Everything' are:

• Know what you are. Krispy Kreme is not in the pastry or breakfast business, but in the 'donut-making theater' business.
  

• Keep the story simple. Be ruthless about having every element contribute to it. If it doesn't, no matter how trendy, politically correct or heart-felt, fuh-geddah-bout-it.
  

• Focus on a couple of goals. More 'shows' have been sunk by the weight of too many things going on.
  

• Let people know exactly what to expect. Recently, I came across Jillian's tag line, "Eat, Drink, Play". I can't comment on the quality of the experience, but I sure know what I am going to find when I get there. I like that.
  

• Remember that guests see everything. They may not be able to articulate what is wrong (although I think restaurateurs do not give the guest enough credit for uncanny perception), but they take it all in: the good, the bad and the jumbled. Ask them what they 'see' through focus groups and quantitative studies.