VIRLANDunkin’ Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin‘, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant.
It was founded by William Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1950. The chain was acquired by Baskin-Robbins’s holding company Allied Lyons in 1990; its acquisition of the Mister Donut chain and the conversion of that chain to Dunkin’ Donuts facilitated the brand’s growth in North America that year.
Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins eventually became subsidiaries of Dunkin’ Brands, headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, in 2004, until being purchased by Inspire Brands on December 15, 2020. The chain began rebranding as a “beverage-led company”, and was renamed Dunkin’, in January 2019; while stores in the U.S. began using the new name, the rebranding will eventually be rolled out to all of its international stores.
With approximately 12,900 locations in 42 countries, Dunkin’ is one of the largest coffee shop and donut shop chains in the world. Its products include donuts, bagels, coffee, and “Munchkins” donut holes.
On January 16, 2013, Nigel Travis, Dunkin’ Brands CEO, announced that the Dunkin’ Donuts franchises would be available in California beginning in 2015.
In July 2013, Dunkin’ Donuts announced that it has signed its first Southern California multi-unit store development agreements with four franchise groups for a total commitment of 45 new restaurants. The first standalone restaurants were expected to open in 2015 in Orange and Los Angeles counties.
The chain also planned to expand into more stores in Texas by 2015. On March 10, 2014, the first Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin-Robbins combination store in Southern California opened in Ramona.
This is Dunkin’ Donuts’ third California shop to open, following shops in Barstow and on Camp Pendleton. Since March 2014, Dunkin’ Donuts has opened several additional locations throughout California, including the Los Angeles area. Dunkin’ Donuts shops opened in the San Francisco Bay Area in Walnut Creek, Half Moon Bay, and American Canyon in 2016, as well as South San Francisco and Fremont, in 2017.
2014 saw the return of Dunkin’ Donuts to the state of Minnesota after nearly a decade’s absence, with a new shop opened inside the Kahler Grand Hotel in Rochester.
By March 2014, Dunkin’ Donuts’ largest international market was South Korea, representing nearly 40 percent of all international sales. With over 900 outlets in the country, it had three times as many as McDonald’s, and about a third more than Starbucks. South Korea is home to Dunkin Donuts’ only coffee roasting plant outside the U.S. Still, the company sees China and its vastly larger population as the more lucrative opportunity. In 2008, Dunkin’ Donuts opened its first restaurant in Shanghai, representing the first step in its China expansion strategy. By March 2014, it had about 50 stores in the country and an agreement to open 100 more over the next five years.
Despite once having hundreds of stores nationwide, Dunkin’ Donuts and its market share all but vanished from Canada by the turn of the century. In the late 1990s to early 2000s, the chain began disappearing from all regions of Canada, with its last foothold in the province of Quebec.
Dunkin’ opened its first location in Lebanon in 1998 and has since gained a lot of popularity among Lebanese people and is now one of the most popular coffee shops with many branches spread across the country. In 2020, Dunkin’ Lebanon started selling its products in supermarkets and grocery stores.
In 1970, Japan became the first Asian country to open Dunkin’ Donuts stores. The Japanese chain was owned by a joint venture between the Saison Group, Yoshinoya, and the Japanese subsidiary of the Compass Group named Seiyo Food Systems.
After 28 years of operating in Japan, Dunkin’ Donuts ceased business there in 1998 due to declining sales and poor performance. All of the non-military base locations were either closed or converted to Mister Donut locations.
Dunkin’ still has locations in United States military bases, which are open only to military personnel.
Dunkin Donuts Christmas hours: Is Dunkin Donuts open on Christmas Day? Dunkin Donuts, or now just Dunkin, is one of the world’s leading brands for coffee and donuts, though less donuts these days and more coffee. The brand offers up a nice all-day breakfast option for those hankering for something different and their coffee is […]