Krispy Kreme airstream and West Cornwall Pasty kiosks at Exeter, situated outside the main entrance to the amenity building. There never used to be any outdoor kiosks at Exeter before lockdown, as the Krispy Kreme arrived in 2021 & West Cornwall Pasty used to be located within the amenity building, but both brands have operated at the site for a while. A Krispy Kreme cabinet was installed in the WHSmith Convenience store in 2009, whereby customers could choose doughnuts from the cabinet and pay for them in the shop. This arrangement is present at the vast majority of motorway services today, & is still present at Exeter. Due to Covid19 lockdowns restricting people from going on Foreign holidays, Cornwall and Devon became popular "Staycation" counties during 2020/21 & the already prominent "summer peak" at Exeter services was intensified. Moto wanted to take advantage of this increased trade at the site, so they began adding new facilities. They built a Costa Drive Thru, & opened this "Krispy Kreme Airstream" kiosk outside the amenity building. Full Krispy Kreme stores had only traded at Oxford & Norton Canes before this, and both stores were short-lived. This Krispy Kreme kiosk was popular with customers as it's a recognisable name. It benefitted Exeter as the interior of the amenity building can quickly overfill with customers, so by providing facilities outside, the interior isn't as prone to becoming chaotic with motorists. West Cornwall Pasty opened at Exeter in 2011, and used a small kiosk in a sheltered area outside the amenity building, similar to the arrangement at Chieveley. Pretty much all of Moto's West Cornwall Pasty's are in these small outdoor kiosks, until this one was moved. In 2017, Moto began a significant refurbishment at Exeter, with a large extension built along the site of the amenity building. In this extension, West Cornwall Pasty moved to a larger indoor unit, next to a Costa takeaway. This was a rare example of an indoor West Cornwall Pasty. The only others were Donington and Winchester South, as well as those at Extra sites. Then another large refurb in the amenity building, during 2022, caused both the Costa takeaway & West Cornwall Pasty to be replaced by a large Pret A Manger, with its own seating. West Cornwall Pasty was then absent from Exeter services for the first time in 11 years, but one year later in 2023, a brand new external West Cornwall Pasty kiosk was placed next to the Krispy Kreme airstream. Interestingly, this West Cornwall Pasty unit is custom made, unlike any other outdoor WCP kiosk on the motorway network. It's situated in a converted shipping container, using kitchen equipment transferred from the former West Cornwall Pasty kiosk at Southwaite Southbound. The Krispy Kreme airstream is silver, with KK's theme colours of green and red, whilst the West Cornwall Pasty kiosk is yellow and black. My visit was made during the night, so it's not the best quality photo, but both kiosks can still be seen. Both kiosks shut overnight, so when Krispy Kreme is closed, customers can only get KK products from WHSmith's cabinet. West Cornwall Pasty is open between 9am-3pm, which is quite limited. Both kiosks are takeaway only, but customers can use the outdoor seating and picnic benches as well as the seating inside. Both Krispy Kreme and West Cornwall Pasty significantly inflate their prices at motorway services. This is due to increased customer demand, but now both kiosks provide food which is terrible value for money. This isn't as much of an issue for Krispy Kreme, as they already have a strong fan base who are more willing to pay the inflated prices, but the lesser-known West Cornwall Pasty providing poor value for money is putting off customers and causing many to use other, similar brands at Exeter, such as Greggs. West Cornwall Pasty was closed during my visit, and Krispy Kreme was empty. This is likely due to my visit being in December, & the cold and dark conditions outside meant people were more attracted to going indoors, regardless of the brands. During the day, these kiosks are in much more use. West Cornwall Pasty used to be signposted from both directions of the M5, but this is no longer the case as KFC took its place on the motorway signposts. Krispy Kreme has never been signposted from the motorway, even when this Airstream kiosk opened. Neither West Cornwall Pasty or Krispy Kreme are advertised much around the site, as these kiosks are already obvious for customers from the outside of the amenity building.

Photo taken on 22/12/2023 by Tom Moon.

Assigned to galleries: Exeter, M5, Moto, West Cornwall Pasty Co