Dunkin’ Brands, which owns the Dunkin’ coffee and doughnut shops, as well as Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream, plans to open two franchise outlets in Columbus.
A representative at the corporate headquarters in Canton, Massachusetts, has not yet verified whether two different brands of stores — or one brand with two locations — will be coming to Columbus.
What is certain is that Dunkin’ Brands is building a shop with 1,882 square feet on the southwest end of the Northern Village Shopping Center close to National Road, city/county associate city planner Tyler Hauck said. The area already has construction equipment on the property, he said.
While original plans for this location were submitted in September, updated plans from the architectural firm Kolbrook Design Inc. of Evanston, Illinois, were submitted in late November, Hauck said.
The other outlet for Dunkin’ Brands calls for up to 3,000 square feet — about half of the former’s Daily’s Farm Market building at 2255 W. Jonathan Moore Pike. Plans for the west side location were received Nov. 12, Hauck said.
Right now, both projects are under administrative review, which might take up to two months to complete, Hauck said.
In recent years, Dunkin’ has expanded its menu to include a wide variety of food and beverage options such as frozen drinks and smoothies. The all-day food options feature a number of breakfast sandwiches and bakery products.
The number of restaurants has increased to more than 12,000 worldwide, with locations in 45 countries, according to government filings.
In 1994, a series of corporate purchases resulted in both Dunkin’ Doughnuts and Baskin-Robbins being merged together as Dunkin’ Brands. Baskin-Robbins, which calls itself the world’s largest chain of ice-cream specialty stores, had a Columbus franchise near 25th Street and Cottage Avenue from 1974 through 2000.
After discovering that doughnuts sales were dropping over the past decade, Dunkin’ Doughnuts decided to remarket itself as a destination for coffee — its most profitable product, according to the company. The brand announced it would officially be known simply as Dunkin’ in September 2018.
Over the long-term, Dunkin’ plans to more than double its U.S. presence, which will put the total number of restaurants above 17,000. Last October, it was announced that Dunkin’ Brands is being acquired by Inspire Brands, a private equity-backed company that owns many national chain restaurants, according to wire reports.
In a number of locations, both Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins share the same building, the corporate website states.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”What’s next? ” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
On Monday, a spokeswoman for Dunkin’ Brands said she has requested details on the two franchises being built in Columbus.
But the spokeswoman was unable to verify when details will be made public.
In October, Dunkin’ Brands was acquired by a private equity-backed company. It’s not know what changes, if any, will take place due to this recent acquisition.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
