Dunkin Coffee
Megan McArdle writes:
One of the first things you encounter when you read personal finance gurus like Dave Ramsey or Suze Orman is the concept of the “latte factor”–the surprising way that little luxury purchases add up. A Starbucks latte a day is well over $1000 a year, which sounds less like an “affordable luxury” than a sizeable chunk of after-tax income for many, even most, of the people who buy them. When Dunkin Donuts is selling for less, and your office is giving it away for free, it seems like a relatively painless way to shore up your finances.
Probably. The real reason I quoted that, though, was that ever since I realized that the Dunkin Donuts outlets that are surprisingly ubiquitous in Barcelona are branded as “Dunkin Coffee” I’ve been waiting for a pretext to blog about this fact:
For whatever reason, I find the subtle differences embedded within the uniformity of fast food chains sort of fascinating.
70 Responses to “Dunkin Coffee”
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February 9th, 2009 at 11:45 am
So, what do they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris? After all, they use a metric system.
Also I hear that in Amsterdam they put mayonnaise on their French Fries. Drown ‘em in that shit.
February 9th, 2009 at 11:48 am
OMG, Barcelona has Dunkin Donuts? That settles it; I’m going. Do they have Popeye’s too?
February 9th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Nicholas Beaudrot beat me to the best response. However, “Dunkin Coffee” is hardly surprising. “Donut” in Spanish is a colloquialism for “your paternal grandmother smells like a goat covered in peanut butter.”
February 9th, 2009 at 11:50 am
The one thing I can’t stand about having moved to LA is that there are no Dukin’ Donuts here. This Rhode Islander needs his iced coffee, motherfucker!
February 9th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Whether or not this new name makes sense kind of depends on how you read the original “Dunkin’ Donuts” name. Is “dunkin” a verb? If so, how does one dunk coffee? I need answers.
February 9th, 2009 at 11:54 am
It’s coffee for dunkin’ stuff in
February 9th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Didn’t you have an article about the paradox of thrift? Full disclosure – I own a coffee shop and business is most definitely off.
February 9th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Obviosuly Eric the words are changed from dunking donuts in coffee to coffee that has things dunked in it.
February 9th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Okay, from an antitrust perspective wouldn’t it be problematic for one company to control both the things-that-are-dunked side (donuts) and the stuff-they-are-dunked-in side (coffee)?
Sounds like vertical integration or something.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
J:
I think you are on to something. I foresee a DOJ anti-trust action, leading to a court-ordered break up. We’ll end up with “Dukin” stores across the street from stores simply named “Donuts.”
February 9th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I was also surprised, some years ago, to come across Dunkin in Barcelona. I was more surprised on the way back to my hostel late at night by the size of the rats running around on this particular Dunkin’s counter.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
A few years ago I happened to visit Harrod’s in London while Krispy Kreme was launching an enormous outlet in the food court in Harrod’s basement. It involved a winding conveyor belt taking donuts hither and yon. I have no idea how it all turned out.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Who’s the dude in the picture?
Did you shave your head? You totally should.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
That’s nothing. Córdoba has a Dunkin’ Donuts clone called Duffin Dagels. Borrowed the color scheme and everything.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Megan McArdle is the living embodiment of a Starbucks latte. On so many levels. (And that’s not a good thing.)
February 9th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Looks like polishing your giant bald head could create 3 million jobs*.
* – if done by the private sector, otherwise it’s just “work”
February 9th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Good Lord, enough with the McArdle blogging already! Isn’t it enough that you all too often treat her her economic illiteracy seriously by responding to it with an I-don’t-think-Megan’s-quite-right-about-this-point faux-seriousness? Now you have to link to and quote her even though you want to make a different point entirely?
Look, I know you never read your own comment sections so I’m just tilting at windmills here, but you really shouldn’t give credence to the McArdle idiocy. Do y’all have some sort of deal or something? Did you lose a bet? It’s really disheartening to see her continually treated seriously by those who should know better.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
In the early 90s I stood in a McDonald’s in Budapest and had a rather hard time ordering because the menu was in Magyar and only the manager of the branch spoke English. I would imagine that 95% of Spaniards have no idea what “dunkin’” means. This is a general problem with anglicisms – they did a study in Germany asking people about the meaning of ads that used them and the vast majority either came up with translations that were wrong or didn’t have any clue whatsoever.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Dunkin’ Donut’s expansion is a bit odd.
Krispy Kreme still owns the south, in spite of an expansion that went from half-mile lines in Manhattan (and overseas) to financial collapse. And it’s not uncommon these days, as a kind of brand projection: there’s a Tim Horton’s in London, and I’m sure there are other North American brands with that kind foreign presence that remain pretty regional.
That sign appears to read Dunkin’Coffee’, too: I wonder what that last ‘ is for.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
word is that Krispy kreme is on the ropes –may go bankrupt.
Starbucks doesn’t sell coffee — starbucks sells a place to park your fat ass for an hour or so. With outrageous prices to keep the homeless and riff raff out.
the reason why Washington DC restaurants set prices high –don’t want “the” hoi polloi wandering in.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I wonder what that last ‘ is for.
I think it’s an ®.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Al says: They are ubiquitous in New England, but there are large parts of the country that have no Dunkin’ Donuts. However, if you want a coffee in the Santiago, Chile airport, you go to Dunkin Donuts.
Dunkin is well represented in the Mid-Atlantic also. They have probably done some analysis and identified a significant portion of the Europe/South America travel market visits the NE corridor on business/leisure and probably already have some brand awareness.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
I’ve seen Dunkin’ Donuts in Indonesia, Thailand, and Honduras. Best thing about the Honduras instance? In a mall, a Dunkin’ Donuts. Two hundred feet down, a bootleg Dunkin’ Donuts called DK ‘D, same font sign, same menu.
Of course, we can’t get Dunkin’ in San Francisco, which is a serious bummer.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
A latte a day … true. But a Dunkin’ coffee and donut a day isn’t exactly light on the wallet. And it’ll not do wonders for your mental or physical health.
And Dave Ramsey’s credibility takes a hit when he says the federal government has never done anything to help him.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
That’s a shame. I grew up with KK in NC. My parent’s first date was at a KK in WInston-Salem.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Starbucks ruins perfectly good coffee with crap like lattes,etc in order to attract the babes. Because Starbucks isn’t selling good coffee –it’s selling the Starbucks experience. Similar to how singles bars can charge high prices for crappy drinks. Except Starbucks doesn’t have to keep bouncers around to kick out the drunks.
Sex sells. If a Starbucks manager was smart, he’d hire the local aerobics instructors to stop by — and maybe drag in some young executive ringers for the women.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Dunkin is simply a fascinating business – in any other situation their 50’s era signs would be mocked, their focus on drive through customers for coffee would be ridiculed, and their tiny dining areas would be shamed. Yet, in many parts of the north east you can get off many freeway exits and there will be a Dunkin on both sides of the road. In fact I have been to intersections where there are 4 Dunkin’s within sight.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
I enjoy Meagan McArdle’s Marie Antionette impression and I agree with ther. From now, Meagan I will be happy with my stagnant income and learn to eat the discount cake. If millions of Americans do likewise, then next year the 1% of Americans who took home 20% of income may be able to take home 25% or more. And, one of those folks might provide a grant so Meagan and Amity Shales can remind the peasantry how good things are.
Thanks, Meagan
February 9th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I got $70 worth of starbucks gift card’s for xmass
..free…liquid…porn
February 9th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Look, I know you never read your own comment sections so I’m just tilting at windmills here, but you really shouldn’t give credence to the McArdle idiocy. Do y’all have some sort of deal or something? Did you lose a bet? It’s really disheartening to see her continually treated seriously by those who should know better.
I’m treating her seriously by linking to her Dunkin Donuts commentary?
February 9th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I just love photos with people pointing at stuff. Unless they’re like dead torture victims or something.
February 9th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Can’t help you w/Dunkies in LA, but there is a small restaurant/bar in Chloride, AZ, which is owned by a refugee from RI. He always has iced coffee.
Easy availability of iced coffee year-riound is maybe the ONLY good thing about RI.
Don’t remember the name of it, but there’s only one street in Chloride. In the desert on the way from Vegas to the Grand Canyon.
February 9th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Why have donuts when you have churros available everywhere in Barcelona?
February 9th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
UberMitch:
You’re from Rhode Island, and you’re not jones-ing for a coffee milk?
February 9th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I’m treating her seriously by linking to her Dunkin Donuts commentary?
Well, I’ll be. You do venture into comments! But in answer to your question . . . yes, it is treating her seriously, and it is the more pernicious since you were making an entirely different point. You just seem to take every opportunity to link to her, and I wonder why that is. You don’t seem to feel the need to go link-happy about the Corner or Powerline, and when you link to them, you tend to treat them with the lack-of-seriousness they deserve.
Now, I get that McArdle is going to generate some commentary. After all, she’s widely read and it’s not like the Atlantic is a fly-by-night operation. But the thing is . . . she sucks. She does not generate coherent arguments. She writes about economics with all the understanding of one with a semester of freshman econ and a re-reading of the collected works of Ayn Rand. When she gets her ass handed to her, she makes lame assed excuses rather than show any modicum of introspection.
So it’s not like I object to your linking to her. I object — as do others, as you can see from the comments in this and other threads — to how often you link to her and treat her seriously. And now you just seem to be doing it gratuitously. Why?
February 9th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I think it’s an ®.
Indeed it is.
Dunkin has opened a few operations in this part of the south, generally as part of gas station setups, and the ground coffee is sold in grocery stores, but it’s not like, say, semi-rural CT, where you can be sure of finding a DD within a few miles, wherever you are, if you desire over-sweet coffee with powdered creamer. KK doesn’t have that kind of ubiquity in the south.
My Michigander friends hate KK and call Dunkin a parody of The Authentic Michigan Doughnut Shop. I’d like to know if that’s an accurate take, and if you can accurately point to a part of the US where coffee-and-doughnut places originate.
(The irony of having Dunkin in Barca, home of bunyols and churros con chocolate, isn’t lost on me.)
February 9th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
My Michigander friends hate KK and call Dunkin a parody of The Authentic Michigan Doughnut Shop.
Which is funny because DD is a parody of the Authentic New England Donut Shop, which DD has basically killed off. The even funnier thing is that New Englands now regard DD as the Authentic New England Donut Shop.
February 9th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Oddly enough, the DD near my work in Manhattan, is more expensive than the Starbucks, which is right by the entrance of my building.
Isn’t supposed to be the other way around?
February 9th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Funny little thing: Dunkin’ had to change its name in Spain because Panrico, makers of a really, really shitty donut that is sold in supermarkets, had trademarked the word “Donut”.
So yeah, no Donut for Dunkin. The Bavarian Creme are still delicious.
(Gah, I miss Barcelona)
February 9th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Very interesting post, as are some of your other posts. I have bookmarked your great site for future visits.
February 9th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
“Donut” is a registered trademark in Spain, so I think they could not use it in their name.
February 9th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
More information at wikipedia:
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkin‘_Donuts
“En España, esta empresa era un joint-venture (sociedad mixta) entre Allied Domecq y Panrico (sólo el accionariado español, que representa el 50%). Pero tras la salida de Panrico (propietaria de la marca registrada “Donuts” en España) del accionariado, la franquicia ha pasado a llamarse “Dunkin’ Coffe”.[1] La inversión necesaria es de entre 90.000 y 120.000 euros para un local de entre 75 y 100 metros cuadrados. “
February 9th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Ninja:
My folks are nice enough to ship me Autocrat Coffee Syrup (which I always preferred to Eclipse). The point is I can make coffee milk at home. Iced coffee, on the other hand, just isn’t the same at home, even using Dunkin Donuts coffee beans (which I’ve tried). Furthermore, the other coffee joints’ iced coffee pales in comparison to Dunkin’s. In a five block radius from my apartment (by Montana Ave in Santa Monica) I have 3 Starbucks, a Coffee Bean, and a Peet’s Coffee. And they’re all worthless for my purposes.
February 9th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Wow, I think that may be the first MY comment I’ve ever seen. I think there is something going on with this McArdle business. Maybe he just likes buzzing his readers. Maybe he just happens to like McArdle. But I think he was waiting for someone to mention it in comments – someone nearly always does.
February 9th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Semi-rural CT Dunkin’s are the worst because of building codes they have to disguise the exterior. For some reason they have to make the store front blend in with the surroundings so no neon pink and orange. Also I am of the firm belief that if you advertise a Dunkin Donuts at your exit off the highway there better be a Dunkin within eye sight of the offramp, none of this 3 lefts and 2 miles down the road bs.
February 9th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
From today’s WSJ:
“Indeed, according to a December survey of coffee shops in Chicago by a stock analyst for William Blair & Co., some sizes and varieties of Starbucks were cheaper than Dunkin’ Donuts coffee when adjusted for size differences. McDonald’s was still cheaper than Starbucks.”
February 9th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
How is it that Barcelona and Santiago have DD, and not here in Los Angeles? We also don’t have Sonic. The wierd thing, is that while there’s no DD or Sonic, we are inundated with their commercials on television. What’s the point of that?
February 9th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
The one thing I can’t stand about having moved to LA is that there are no Dukin’ Donuts here.
That’s the wonderful thing here. We instead have a zillion independent donut places, and most are better than DD.
This is a general problem with anglicisms – they did a study in Germany asking people about the meaning of ads that used them and the vast majority either came up with translations that were wrong or didn’t have any clue whatsoever.
My sister came back from Italy recently and brought back an Italian newspaper that had an ad in it for a Dodge Durango SUV where the slogan was in English, the rest was in Italian, and the photo was a family portrait in which everybody was wearing Ace Frehley’s KISS makeup. I have no idea why.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
everybody was wearing Ace Frehley’s KISS makeup
Sorry, it was Paul Stanley’s. I’m getting rusty in my old age.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Peet’s Coffee….have not thought of it since leaving it behind in Pennsylvania. Thank god for that – the worst coffee on earth
February 9th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Peet’s coffee… the worst coffee on earth.
I dunno, as far as bad gourmet coffee goes, SF’s ubiqutous Pasqua has been my worst experience by far.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Slogan could be: “What’s cookin?” “Coffee”.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
The name doesn’t quite work without the alliteration.
How about Cookin’ Coffee?
February 9th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
I just want to moan about how my office is no longer supplying coffee. It’s bring your own now.
February 9th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
My theory about Dunkin’ Donuts is that its value proposition is convinence and nothing else. This is why places in the northeast are so thoroughly saturated with DDs–the main road’s were laid out before the automobile came to prominence, and even the one’s that came afterward are often twisting and turning due to the hilly terrain. So you need a DD every hundred feet to make it convenient. In Hudson, MA there are two DDs on opposite sides of the street only about 50 yards apart, but it actually made sense, because it was basically impossible to make a left turn out of a parking lot on that stretch of road during the morning and evening commutes (i suspect the horrid traffic design in many MA towns and cities also explains the phenomenon of Masshole drivers, it’s not that they’re actually assholes, it’s just that you have to learn to drive like one if you ever want to get anywhere). But out West where the road’s were generally laid out with some more attention to dealing with automobile congestion, you can just turn around and drive to somewhere that doesn’t suck without too much hassle.
February 9th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
This should be the law for everything, not just Dunkin Donuts. I’m looking at you, rural PA.
The best thing about living in Maryland is that we’re right on the dividing line between Dunking Donuts and Krisoy Kreme. There is nothing as delicious as dunking an KK original glaze into a DD coffee.
February 9th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
I wonder if you can get Grand Inquisitor action figures from the vending machines.
February 10th, 2009 at 1:58 am
LOLZ
whoever posted the clip of Megan getting pwned…. I always had my suspicions about her, and they have now been confirmed. thank you
February 10th, 2009 at 3:54 am
not here in Los Angeles? We also don’t have Sonic.
Oddly enough, in the L.A. Metro area, for several years there was exactly one and only one Sonic Drive-in, in Anaheim. But I just checked the store locator, and there appears to now be Sonics in Palmdale, Victorville, Hemet, and Cathedral City as well. But those are definitely new within the last year and a half or so.
So, yeah, not exactly the middle of L.A.
February 10th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
The reason we frequented Starbucks in Madrid was because they operated on “American time” and we could get early
breakfast before starting out.
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