Golden Krust Plans Expansion in Stone Mountain

Golden Krust plans to open new locations in Stone Mountain, according to Lowell Hawthorne, president and CEO of the Jamaican bakery chain based in New York.

The company held a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday at its South Hairston franchise for the expansion of the restaurant there. It will serve as the production site for new Golden Krusts in the area, Hawthorne said. 

"We are looking to build more in Stone Mountain," Hawthorne told Patch.

Jacqueline Hawthorne-Robinson, the CEO's sister and a founding partner of the company, operates the Stone Mountain franchise. There are now five Golden Krusts in the metro area and more than 120 in nine states. 

The Hawthorne family opened the first Golden Krust in 1989 in New York, carrying on a family tradition started in Jamaica.

Among the community leaders and area officials attending the groundbreaking were Vin Martin, honorary consul general of Jamaica to Atlanta; Lithonia Mayor Tonya Peterson; Stone Mountain City Councilman Cyril Mungal; and Jackie O. Ginn, a DeKalb Chamber of Commerce vice president. 

The Stone Mountain Golden Krust also celebrated its fifth year of business on South Hairston Saturday.