It was sweet while it lasted, but the hot light will shut off permanently at the Maysville Krispy Kreme Doughnuts store this Sunday.

The store that opened with much fanfare at Maysville’s Wal-Mart Superstore last July, will close at noon Sunday.

Wal-Mart store manager Richard Newberry confirmed the closing Friday. Newberry said Wal-Mart does have plans for the space now occupied by Krispy Kreme, but was not at liberty to say what those plans are at this time.

“All I can say is it will be a branded food,” said Newberry.

He did say it will take about 45 days for Krispy Kreme to move, before another tenant can move into the space.

Newberry said the Maysville Wal-Mart Superstore will continue to sell packaged Krispy Kreme products.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. announced this week that it is closing five outlets in Wal-Mart stores around the country. In addition to the store in Maysville, stores in Charlotte and Mount Airy, N.C., Virginia Beach, Va. and Garland, Texas will close this week. A store in Hutchinson, Kansas will also close in April, Krispy Kreme spokeswoman Amy Hughes told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Hughes said Krispy Kreme plans to continue its wholesale relationship with Wal-Mart.

“It was a test, and we’ve made a decision that the concept is not viable, but we’re going to continue our great relationship with Wal-Mart with our wholesale business,” said Hughes.

Hughes denied that the closings had anything to do with the corporation financial situation or with Dunkin’ Donut’s move, announced in May, to open its own shops within 10 Wal-Mart stores.

Krispy Kreme has more than 400 company-owned and franchise stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, South Korea and Britain.

Its shares began a sharp decline in May 2004 from lofty levels, after the company issued its first profit warning in its four-year history as a public company. Since that profit warning the company has come under regulatory and legal scrutiny amid concerns about its accounting for franchise repurchases.

Krispy Kreme faces a possible default of that credit agreement Friday, and investors are awaiting word on the company’s financial situation and prospects.

Krispy Kreme began rolling out stores with “Hot Doughnuts Now” signs in Wal-Mart stores in September 2003 as a test.

Area residents camped out in the Maysville Wal-Mart lobby July 6, in anticipation of the grand opening of the Krispy Kreme at 6 a.m.

The first 25 customers won a dozen doughnuts a week and a cup of coffee a month for a year.

(Editor’s Note: The Associated Press contributed to this story.)