Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Dunkin’ Donuts to open 125 stores in Dallas over next few years
DALLAS — This story announcing the imminent arrival of 125 Dunkin Donuts stores in the Dallas area (YAY!) sorely misses the point in the way that so many blechy daily newspaper stories miss the point. It takes a statistic -- that "Dunkin' Donuts gets 64 percent of its revenue from beverages, including coffee" -- and then moves quickly into a mental rut by turning this into a Battle Of The Coffee Titans (with the inevitable ensuing journalistic cliches that include phrases like "The competition to attract java junkies" and "food industry behemoths such as Starbucks Coffee Co. and McDonald's Corp." Daily newspapers should not be allowed to use phrases like "java junkies," it's like allowing someone on medication to operate heavy machinery.
The idea that Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks are locked in some "battle to capture java junkies" is not new. Rinse, lather, repeat. Rinse, lather, repeat.
Here's the thing: The name isn't Dunkin' Coffee, it's Dunkin' DONUTS. I know it's hard to resist the opportunity to evoke the holy name of Starbucks, but it ain't about the coffee. It's about the fact that Krispy Kreme came here a few years ago and softened everyone up on the doughnut front, but wasn't able to sustain the business end. It's about the fact that there is no doughnut chain here, just a bunch of completely mediocre mom-and-pops. It's about the DOUGHNUTS.
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Erin Rice says:
WOOHOO! The New England Maple Cheddar breakfast sandwich and my stomach can finally reunite!
Verified
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
kirk says:
What's the matter with mom-and-pops? J's Donuts at Parker and Midway in Plano turns out product that's better than any Dunkin' Donuts I've tried.
Anonymous
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Teresa Gubbins says:
say, which dunkin donuts branches have you tried, kirk? have you tried the branch on Rte. 28 in Salem, N.H.? no? how about the branch on South Broadway in Lawrence, MA? not that one, either?
i look forward to a taste test/donut showdown coming to a neutral-grounds location soon
Staff
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott says:
I look forward to a doughnut shop that doesn't use the same 50# bags of commercial doughnut mixes that everyone else uses. Are there any true "from scratch" doughnut shops in Dallas?
Anonymous
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
kirk says:
Perhaps those two were superior to the one on the Boston Post Rd in Larchmont, NY, or Ridge Rd in Evanston, IL. But, after all is said and done, none of them can hold a candle to Les Beignes de Monsieur Horton.
Anonymous
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Erin Rice says:
Are you talking about Tim Horton's, that Canadian chain? My college roommate, who was from Alberta, told me all about that place and when we would go up to Montreal (I went to school in the Northeast) she would make us trek there for a morning hangover breaker. If you go to Tim Horton's in Canada, it's great. Those Canucks can't get enough.
Around my junior year of college they tried to expand the chain south and people were all a flutter with excitement. Within 6 months, however, the locations near me were replaced with random coffee shops and, you got it, Dunkin Donuts. You can't beat the best. There was something different about the American chains. Maybe it was because the cashiers didn't say, "And that will be all for you, eh?"
Horton's never stood a chance in New England. And to the victor (Dunkin Donuts) went the spoils.
Verified
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
kphagen says:
Losing a Donut Palace is kind of like losing a Dairy Queen or gaining a Wal-Mart. It's sad, but it's just the logical progression of the invisible hand that guides us in spite of all of our kicking and screaming. I guess one could move to Brownsboro or something and look forward to the day a Donut Palace opens...or would that be keeping the cycle alive?
Anonymous
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
kirk says:
Erin:
What was different about the American outlets is that they were managed and staffed by Wendy's. The pride of Columbus bought Timmy Ho-hos in the '90s, tried to expand them into the States and failed miserably, eh? Now they are independent again and publicly traded.
Anonymous
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
J_Mortimer says:
The cake donuts at Golden Star Donuts at Campbell and Coit in Dallas. Rock and roll!
I smell a donut-off in Pegasusnews future. I volunteer to become fat as a judge.
J
Anonymous
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Erin Rice says:
Well now, that explains it. I had no idea. Thanks, Kirk!
Verified
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
ryetronics says:
I've had Dunkin Donuts, I've had the local mom and pop's, but nothing beats a Shipley's donut, especially one from the store on FM518 in Friendswood, TX.
Anonymous
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Billusa99 says:
Shipley's sells donuts? I thought all they did was take glamor shots of high school cheerleading tarts!
Anonymous
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
eastside says:
didn't dunkin donut's close most of its Dallas stores not too long ago? I am shocked that Crispy creme survived the health food craze.
Anonymous
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Alex Bentley says:
Attention! According to our good friends at Lantana Links, the first area Dunkin' Donuts <a href="http://lantanalinks.com/">has arrived</a>, albeit in the new Highland Village Wal-Mart (scroll down to article entitled " New Wal-Mart opens doors today.")
Staff
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle says:
Pretty sure eastside is somewhat correct...but I wouldn't consider it "not too long ago". I thought we had some way back in the early 90's? Seems 3 stuck around through the years, too.
Verified
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
April Powell says:
There was a Dunkin' Donuts on Greenville (somewhere in the malls on the west side of the street, between Caruth Haven and Lovers) when I moved here in the mid-late '90s. Not sure when it left, though. I'm not a doughnut fan.
Staff
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
John Connolly says:
I'm pretty sure that a new one has gone in at DFW
Verified
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Chris Curotolo says:
Ok, according to the Dunkin' Donuts (my favorite donuts) <a href="https://www.dunkindonuts.com/aboutus/store/Results.aspx?hdnLatitude=33.0902&hdnLongitude=-96.7419&hdnType=ByLocation&rdoUnit=Mi&txtPostalCode=75025&txtAddress=&txtCity=&selStateProvince=&selCountry=NN&txtDistance=50&txtMatchesperPage=5">website </a>there are 5 location in the DFW area...
2001 Coit Rd Plano , TX 75075
1008 W. Hebron Pkwy Carrollton , TX 75010
200 Terminal Rd Dallas , TX 75261
1700 Dallas Pkwy Plano , TX 75093
803 W Centerville Rd Garland , TX 75041
Sleep well.
Staff
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Tracy Yost says:
Funny thing, We lived in Boston for a couple of years, (actually Cambridge) and noticed that, compared to the Dallas area, there are not nearly as many fast food spots, however, there was a Dunkin' Donuts about every 6 blocks in any direction. Kind of like Starbucks is getting to be in the Dallas area...... I guess if I had to pick, I'd pick Dunkin over Starbucks. Better coffee for a better price, and of course the donuts :-)
Verified
2 years agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal