Dunkin’ Donuts is a popular coffee and baked goods chain in the United States and also worldwide. The store sells fifty-two different types of donuts, over a dozen coffee beverages, along with a wide variety of bagels, breakfast sandwiches, and other baked goods. The chain is a market leader in hot, decaf, flavored and iced coffee, and of course, donuts. The restaurant’s products are served fast, fresh, and with a friendly smile. The chain has been serving customers worldwide for over forty years and has been recognized for customer loyalty.

Dunkin’ strives to provide fresh and delicious coffee and baked goods in a fast, efficient, and courteous manner. The stores are modern and provide a casual atmosphere for customers to enjoy their food. The coffee is freshly ground, brewed, and served. It is discarded if it is not used within eighteen minutes. When preparing its iced coffee, the restaurant double brews the coffee before pouring it into units to ensure the iced coffee is never watered down and always has its flavor. The chain uses 100 percent Arabica coffee beans. The establishment is also very involved in local communities through the Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation.

History

The first store was opened in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts by Mr. William “Bill” Rosenberg. Mr. Rosenberg had a tremendous amount of experience in selling food in areas where donuts and coffee were the two most popular items for customers. The first franchise was licensed in 1955, five years after the initial restaurant opening. The restaurant was initially named “Open Kettle”. In 1949, it eventually changed its name to “Kettle Donuts”. The restaurant was also known as “Universal Food Systems” during the sixties. The company began to expand rapidly in 1959. In 1963, William Rosenberg’s son, Mr. Robert Rosenberg took over the company.

Dunkin’ Donuts is a subsidiary of Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc. The company headquarters is currently based in Canton, Massachusetts, in the greater Boston area. The company has expanded over the years and is now one of the largest baked goods and coffee restaurants in the world. The restaurant got its current name, “Dunkin’ Donuts” in 1968. By 1968, the company went public. In 1990, Allied Domecq purchased the chain through its acquisition of Dunkin’ Brands. Pernod Ricard S.A. eventually purchased the company from Allied Domecq. Pernod Ricard then sold the company to Bain Capital Partners, the Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners.

There are currently over 11,300 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the world. There are over 8,000 restaurants in forty-one states in the U.S. and the District of Colombia. Some examples of these states include: Georgia, Florida, New York, Texas, and Arizona. There are also over 3,200 restaurants in thirty-six different countries. Some examples of international locations include: Austria, Bahrain, Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, Germany, Guatemala, India, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

The establishment continues to make and serve fresh and delicious coffee and donuts. The company has received a high level of industry recognition. According to Brand Keys, the chain has been ranked as number one in iced regular/decaf/flavored coffee; number one in hot regular/decaf/flavored coffee; number one in the donut category; number one in the bagel and muffin category; number two in the breakfast sandwich servings category; and for nine consecutive years, number one in customer loyalty in the coffee category. To this day, the restaurant still uses the original proprietary coffee blend recipe implemented by its founder.

Review

The chain serves a variety of hot, iced, and frozen beverages. Coffee is the popular beverage choice for many customers.  Hot beverages include coffee, macchiato, latte, espresso, cappuccino, dunkaccino, vanilla chai, hot tea and hot chocolate. The hot beverages are priced between $2 and $4. The cold beverages include iced coffee, regular iced tea, iced green tea, iced latte, iced macchiato, and sweet tea. These cold beverages are priced between $2 and $5. The frozen beverages include smoothies and coolatas, priced between $3 and $5. The store also provides sodas.

In addition, the chain serves baked goods and other food items. The baked goods include donuts, bagels, cookies, danishes, munchkins, and muffins. These baked goods range from $1 to $10, depending on the order. There is, of course, a wide variety of donuts, which include Plain, Glazed Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla Frosted, Boston Kreme, Glazed Chocolate Cake; Jelly; Powdered Sugar; Cinnamon; Sugar Raised; and Blueberry Cake. The donuts are priced according to the size of the order. The bagels also come in a wide variety, such as Plain, Cinnamon Raisin, Sesame, Everything, Poppy Seed, Multigrain, Onion, and Wheat. The bagels are also priced according to the size of the order.

The other food items consist mostly of sandwiches, which include bakery sandwiches and breakfast sandwiches. The bakery sandwiches are priced between $3 and $4. The bakery sandwiches include Chicken Bacon; Chicken Salad; Ham and Cheese; Texas Toast Grilled Cheese; Tuna Salad; Turkey, Cheddar and Bacon; Snack and Go Chicken Wrap; and the Snack and Go Steak wrap. The breakfast sandwiches are priced between $1 and $5. The breakfast sandwiches include the Angus Steak and Egg; Bacon Egg and Cheese, Big N’ Toasted; Chicken Apple Sausage; Egg White; Egg and Cheese; Ham, Egg and Cheese; Sausage, Egg and Cheese; Sliced Turkey; Sweet Black Pepper Bacon; Turkey Sausage; and the Wake-up Wrap.

The chain also offers a variety of combos. The coffee and the donuts are definitely customer favorites. The breakfast and bakery sandwiches are highly recommended as well. The service is quick and the restaurants are generally clean. Customers have the option of dining in or taking their food to go. The chain is a casual quick service store so there is no need for reservations. The hours of operation vary according to location, but are generally from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. each day. Some locations are open 24 hours. The store is definitely one of America’s favorite every day stop for coffee and baked goods. After all, “America runs on Dunkin.”