Dunkin' Expands Menu, Replaces Ovens

[Algorem]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gRhvJh8MC4EhbYPvsHR58AOie_uwD8UP8GE80

By MARK JEWELL – 9 hours ago

BOSTON (AP) — Dunkin' Donuts, the coffee and baked goods chain synonymous with breakfast, is targeting the afternoon and evening crowds with new flatbread sandwiches and personal pizzas heated in convection ovens rather than microwaves.

The chain hopes the moves, to be announced Wednesday, will improve food quality and bolster an expansion plan that's introducing Dunkin's pink and orange-themed restaurants far beyond the brand's Northeastern base.

Although Dunkin' has previously experimented with sandwiches, the 57-year-old chain is billing what it calls its "all-day, oven-toasted menu" as its biggest change since its launch of espresso drinks in 2003.

The goal is to even out sales throughout the 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. day maintained by most of the 5,400-plus stores in the U.S. About two-thirds of sales come before noon, with most customers choosing snacks such as baked goods and breakfast sandwiches with coffee...

[Unsane]

1. Is Dunkin' Donuts endorsing a primary candidate?

:wtf:

[demokatgurrl]

2. I think this is relevant because I've heard the Clinton

voters called "Dunkin' Donuts voters" and the Obama voters called "Starbucks voters".
However, whatever relevant message is in the post, has escaped me. Too subtle.

[Virginia Dare]

22. Maybe that's why Obama was dunkin Dunkin's yesterday?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loAjTRMfsFo

[ORDem]

3. Dunkin' espresso?? mmmm, I'm sure that's tasty ... not n/t

[Dr.Phool]

4. Didn't the Carlyle Group buy Dunkin' Donuts last year?

I stopped buying their coffee beans when I read the article.

[Freddie Stubbs]

17. Yes, they must be planning to use the oven in the death camps

:tinfoilhat:

[Virginia Dare]

23. Or maybe they just plan on killing us all by clogging our arteries?

:yoiks:

[AngryAmish]

5. Recommended!

[rox63]

6. This should be in GD, not GDP

Donuts and coffee have just about nothing to do with the primaries, unless you count their usefulness in keeping campaign volunteers fueled.

[Mountainman]

11. Wrong, last night they said that the Dunkin Donuts Dems voted for Obama not just the

Starbucks Dems.

They were saying that upper income and higher educated Dems were voting for Obama and everyone else was voting for Clinton, but last night that changed in VA and MD. Now even the Dunkin Donuts Dems voted for Obama not just the Starbucks Dems.

[Occam Bandage]

7. This is more GD or Lounge business. That said, Dunkin is great, but I wouldn't

really buy anything but coffee/donuts from them.

[MaineDem]

8. They've had pizza and the new sandwiches for a few weeks now

Hashbrowns too.

Took me by surprise. I wonder how well they'll sell.

[tridim]

12. Do they have a drive-thru?

Or is it strictly a sit down type deal.

I haven't bought donuts for probably 20 years so I'm really not up on how it works.

[MaineDem]

15. Yes, most all have drive-thrus

I don't buy donuts but their coffee is good.

[rug]

9. Wow, within a day of his appearance, look at the change.

[DS1]

10. You mean the change that's been at my local Dunks for a month now?

:shrug:

[rug]

13. But it's taken a visionary to spread it across the land.

[DS1]

14. You're really bitter, aren't you

[rug]

16. Not at all. Are you?

I find the rhetoric disturbing.

[DS1]

18. No, but it seems that way from reading your posts

Whatever. Stay well.

[Bill McBlueState]

24. they've had the sandwiches and pizza in western MA since the fall

Did we actually get them before the eastern part of the state?

In December, I tried to order a flatbread sandwich at a Dunkin Donuts in the southern tier of NY. Kid didn't know what the hell I was talking about. :blush:

[eilen]

19. The DD I go to doesn't have them yet.

I think it is interesting that as Starbucks is planning to jettison their sandwiches, DD plans to increase theirs. They had the hash browns which were passable for deep fried in grease. Btw, don't buy the sour cream & onion bagel, it is totally gag inducing. I thought it would be similar to Lender's onion (faint flavor of onion/sc) instead it was like combining a potato chip with tons of salt and fake flavor with a bagel, and the young woman at the counter light scorched it and gave me a big "you're lucky I'm making this" attitude. I was really really nice to her because I didn't want her to spit in my food. She was also the one who recommended the bagel, go figure. From now on, coffee only or I'll just go to Panera which has better coffee, better bagels, better service and free wifi.

[SoCalDem]

20. Why on earth does every business have to do everything?

Life was better when donut shops made donuts & sandwich shops made sandwiches:)

[Chovexani]

21. They're going to learn the same lesson Starbucks did

The hard way.

Like it or not (and I loathe it!), Starbucks is a coffee shop. They had a niche and they performed well in it. However, they made the classic mistake in that they started focusing on everything but coffee. Too much extraneous bullshit on the menu, not enough emphasis on what made them all that money in the first place. Now they're closing stores and going back to basics.

I wonder how long it'll take for Dunkin Donuts to crash and burn and learn the same lesson.