In its original iteration, Dunkin’ was called Open Kettle. Caterer William Rosenberg founded the business in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1948, serving coffee and donuts to locals. In 1950, the business was renamed Dunkin’ Donuts. And today, it’s just Dunkin’. Feeling nostalgic? The original Dunkin’ is still standing in Quincy and has been restored to its ’50s glory.
According to Dunkin’ itself, an executive architect is rumored to be responsible for the name change from Open Kettle to Dunkin’ Donuts. Not many people dip their donuts into coffee these days, but it sounds like it was a popular thing to do at the time.
America runs on Dunkin’ now, but at one point, those Americans were getting their coffee and tea from across the pond. In 1989, Allied-Lyons, a British food and spirits conglomerate, bought Dunkin’ Donuts for $325 million. After French-based beverage company Pernod Ricard took over Allied Domecq in 2005, it sold Dunkin’ Brands to a consortium of three U.S. private equity firms.
Back in the day, doughnuts were cut by hand, which resulted in plenty of holes. (Now, modern machinery dispenses just the rings of dough and the holes are made separately.) When Dunkin’ started selling donut holes in 1972, the company named them “Munchkins” after the Wizard of Oz characters. The company marketed the holes to kids while the grownups went for the whole donuts. Those mini donut balls arrived on DD menus in 1972, but no, you can’t buy just one. While the minimum varies from store to store, it’s been reported that four munchkins are the least you can walk out of the shop with.
Every year, Dunkin’ sells about 2 billion cups of hot and iced coffee globally, and there are more than 15,000 different ways to order your coffee. Yes, 15,000! That’s thanks to the chain’s wide variety of syrups, shots, and sweeteners. Hate the taste of burnt coffee? So does Dunkin’. According to DD, the chain’s coffee is freshly ground, freshly brewed, and most importantly, freshly served. The company’s website states that the chain brews a fresh pot of coffee every 18 minutes, if not sooner. So you’ll never get a stale cup.
In response to the popularity (and elusiveness) of the quick-to-sell-out Cronut at Dominique Ansel Bakery in NYC, Dunkin’ launched its own croissant-donut crossover pastry in late 2014. It was initially meant to be a temporary item, but because of its insane popularity—8.5 million were sold in the pastry’s first three months—it became a permanent menu item in the United States for a while. The product initially debuted in South Korea under the name “New York Pie Donuts” (pictured).
Dunkin’ is considered a hot spot in South Korea. There are hundreds of stores, and the experience is a lot different from the American one. Patrons are allowed to pick donuts off the shelves themselves, cups are paper, and the most popular drink is an Americano, which features hot water and a shot of espresso. Along with traditional donuts like glazed, there are black rice doughnuts, jalapeño sausage pie doughnuts, and bubble tea lattes.
