From the moment I began driving, I adopted a ritual.  I would find- and dine- at a Dunkin Donuts restaurant.  (No, not in the store but in my car as I continued driving.)

On my longer trips (when I commuted from NY to Boston), I might have actually stopped twice.  Often in the tiniest towns along the way, just for the opportunity to see what would be different between the shops. (In a nutshell= nothing.)

But, imagine my surprise to find out that this chain was started by a child of immigrants, a Jewish fellow names William Rosenberg. That creation  was before I was born, in 1948- although when it first started, the store ws called “Open Kettle”.  (Coffee cost a dine and doughnuts [52 varieties!!!!] were to be had for a nickel.)

Rosenberg began perfecting his coffee blend, seeking out the perfect coffee for his nascent chain.

By 1950, “Open Kettle” became known as Dunkin Donuts. (He also converted the donut shape from a perfect “O” to a “Q” to afford easier dunking.  That wasn’t much of a hit. He then realized it was business capability that would differentiate Dunkin Donuts from his competitors, so he  returned his donut to the more conventional shape.

To rapidly expand (from his handful of locations), he adopted franchising.  (This was illegal in more than few stated, by the way.)  He became one of the pioneers of franchising!

(His business partner at the time- Harry Winokur [his brother-in-law]- objected.  So, Rosendberg bought his interests out.)  Well, that was a short-lived opposition, since Winokur started up the Mister Donut chain and franchised his shops in competition. (Mister Donut manged to create some 550 shops.)

By 1979, Rosenberg claimed 1000 locations across the USA.  (That is also when breakfast items- bagels, muffins, and croissants- began blessing their menus.)

It was Rosenberg who had the last laugh, however. By 1963, there were 100 Dunkin’ Donuts shops, and by 1979, there were 1,000 locations. It was then that the iconic munchkins were introduced alongside other breakfast fare like muffins, bagels, and croissants.  A bout a decade later, a massive European conglomerate (Allied Lyons) swallowed up Dunkin Donuts in 1990; 14 years later a new conglomerate, Inspire Brands in 2020 became the owner of the chain.  (The new owners arranged to drop “donuts” from their moniker.)

The conglomerates were good for Dunkin- it now has about 13K facilities in some 45 counties.  And a few of them (like the ones I frequent in Baltimore) are fully kosher!  (The ingredients in the donuts and the coffee are considered kosher- but the shops generally aren’t certified.  Kind of like ita sister operation- Baskin Robbins.)

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

You do know that Mister Donut is only in North America and m

uch smaller.]