Mystery surrounds claims Krispy Kreme is set to open in Belfast after plans surfaced on social media.
The US donut chain has been under pressure to expand into Northern Ireland for a number of years, in particular following the opening of their Dublin branch in 2018.
Demand here was so high at one point that an online campaign was launched to get a Krispy Kreme store in Belfast, which gained thousands of supporters.
In the summer of 2018, a spokesperson for the brand said they had no official plans for a branch in Northern Ireland but did not rule it out.
Earlier this month, plans which supposedly showed a Krispy Kreme drive-thru for Boucher Road started circulating on social media.
The plans appear to show the drive-thru on the site of the new Lidl store which was announced this week.
When asked about the plans, Lidl said: "We can confirm that Lidl has submitted plans for a new £10 million state-of-the-art store at Boucher Road, Belfast, encompassing a 1,420 sqm. sales floor, 148 space car park and a Drive Thru Café.
"This project is currently in the planning stage and no further information is available at this time in relation to the details of the drive thru provision, but we hope to share confirmed details in the coming weeks as soon as it is finalised.
"It is anticipated that this new store will complete construction and open by 2022, supporting up to 70 permanent new retail jobs."
Belfast Live approached Krispy Kreme for a comment but at the time of publication had not received a reply.
However, when responding to rumours of their first Northern Irish store on Twitter, their brand's Ireland account teased: "who knows what the future holds..." and "I can neither confirm nor deny this... who knows what the future holds?"
In the summer of 2017, the company had to issue a statement after an advert for a job with Krispy Kreme in Co Down was incorrectly published.
Job advertisements marked for the North Down District sparked rumours the US donut chain was preparing to open its first Northern Irish store.
Roles for team members and a shift leader were advertised for Krispy Kreme in the North Down District area with full and part-time roles apparently up for grabs.
But the company later confirmed they made a mistake and the job had been listed incorrectly.
