40 Pictures Of Dunkin' Through The Decades
We've been running on Dunkin' for quite some time.
Few still-thriving coffee chains have a longer history than Dunkin'. The brand got its start all the way back in 1950, and today it's a staple of American culture. It even makes its mark around the world with 12,000 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia, and beyond. As Dunkin' Donuts—now officially just "Dunkin'"—heads into its 70th year, we're remembering the quirky mascots, the momentous ideas, and the delicious collaborations.
Late 1940s: William Rosenberg Realizes The Selling Power Of Coffee And Donuts
Entrepreneur William Rosenberg started buying taxicabs and turning them into catering vehicles with money he made selling bonds during World War II. He soon realized, however, that 40 percent of his revenue was coming from only two products: coffee and pastries. With that, his next and soon-to-be iconic business idea was born.
1950: Our First-Ever Dunkin' Donuts
In this Boston.com Dunkin' history, we learn that Rosenberg actually opened this original location in Quincy, Massachusetts—a suburb of Boston—in 1948. It was called "Open Kettle," which just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it? In 1950, Rosenberg changed the name to the now-iconic Dunkin' Donuts. His goal, according to the Dunkin' Donuts website, was to "make and serve the freshest, most delicious coffee and donuts quickly and courteously in modern, well merchandised stores." We'll dunk to that.
Early 1950s: Dunkin' Donuts' Coffee Puts The Shop On The Map
Quick service, cheap prices, and quality product made Dunkin' Donuts a hit, and fast. Rosenberg made sure his recipe for coffee was perfect, and believed in it so much that he drank it every morning himself. The recipe proved so popular that franchise locations would go on to keep using it even today.
1953: Dunkin' The Donut
To really drive home the concept of dunkin' your donut into your coffee, Rosenberg pushed for the creation of a donut with a handle. The company founder wrote in his memoir that there was some push-back when he came up this idea, but Rosenberg was determined to give Dunkin' Donuts its own special donut. The sort-of Q-shaped pastry survived until 2003, when its hand-cut process was finally deemed too time-consuming and was replaced with machine-cut, perfectly round old-fashioned donuts.
Mid-1950s: Dunkin' Donuts Establishes Itself With 52 Varieties
Dunkin' Donuts quickly set itself apart from other donut shops with a whopping 52 different varieties of donut. We'd be hard-pressed to even name 52 different kinds of donut right now, and we're the donut's biggest fans. This Slate history reveals that Rosenberg got the idea to offer so many flavors from Howard Johnson's offering 28 different kinds of ice cream.
1955: Franchising Begins
Rosenberg had clearly struck gold with his particular approach to the crowd-pleasing coffee and donut combo, and by 1955, other business-minded folks wanted in. Interestingly, the concept of franchising was frowned upon back then, even illegal in some states, according to this Mental Floss history. Rosenberg, however, believed that franchising was an important route for people to take toward their American dream of owning a business and being their own boss. He even started the International Franchise Association in 1960, and it still exists today. By deciding to franchise, Rosenberg opened the gates for Dunkin' Donuts to start popping up all over the country.
1961: Dunkin' Gets A Mascot
Dunkin' Donuts' original mascot was this, er, fella named Dunkie. Just your average man made of donut and wearing a coffee cup because, you know, decency. We suppose there's something charming in a very retro way about ol' Dunkie here, but we're not too surprised that he didn't stick around.
Early 1960s: Dunkin' Donuts Makes A Spelling Error A-OK
The proper spelling for "doughnut" is, well, "doughnut" (though we here at Delish prefer the more casual spelling). The term was originally coined by author Washington Irving in 1809, and it meant literally a ball (or "nut") of fried dough. Dunkin' Donuts wasn't the first to use the shortened "donut" spelling, but it's often credited with making this variation more mainstream within just the first several years of its existence. "Donut" eventually became accepted as just another spelling instead of a misspelling. Muhaha.
1963: Dunkin' Donuts Takes America
The year 1963 saw the opening of the 100th location of Dunkin' Donuts. That's how appealing owning a piece of Dunkin's action was to franchisees: 100 different locations all over the country in only the eight years since Rosenberg built the franchising plan. This shop was on a roll, and was quickly becoming the average American's go-to for breakfast and workday breaks.
1970: Dunkin' Donuts Goes International
It was official: Dunkin' Donuts was enough of a sensation to have people clamoring for it across the globe. In 1970, the chain's first overseas location opened up, all the way in Japan. The coffee and donut hub was poised to be a worldwide presence, and people were soon going to be dunking their donuts in their coffee no matter where they lived.
1972: Munchkins Are Born
Aren't they adorable? In 1972, Dunkin' Donuts introduced munchkins, instantly creating one of the world's favorite snacks to share at work or bring to your kid's classroom or convince yourself that you're being healthier than eating a whole donut with. The chain is for some reason a little tight-lipped on the munchkin's origin story, but it's reasonable to believe they just figured out a way to make money off the excess dough being cut out of their donuts. We don't really care where munchkins came from, as long as we have them.
1978: Dunkin' Muffins
In 1978, Dunkin' Donuts added muffins (freshly baked muffins, at that) to its menu. In classic variations like blueberry and chocolate chip, muffins gave customers another breakfast option and presumably drew in new customers happy to have a not-fried meal or snack choice. The addition also paved the way for Dunkin' Donuts to keep expanding its menu.
1979: Dunkin' Donuts Opens Its 1,000th Location
In the 16 years since Dunkin' Donuts celebrated 100 locations, the chain expanded to 1,000 spots in the United States alone. With an especially high concentration in the northeast (thanks to Dunkin's Massachusetts roots), the coffee staple had grown to become an American favorite. Customers could find Dunkin' Donuts locations along highways, in shopping centers, and even on university campuses.
1979: Easter Egg Donuts
One of Dunkin' Donuts' most fun holiday promotions had to be in 1979. The chain made cute little donuts shaped like Easter eggs, and sold them in cartons for $1.49. Even in 1979, $1.49 for a dozen donuts seems like a steal. The chocolate-dipped, sprinkle-covered treats continued on into the 1980s, and we wish they hopped right on to today.
1980: The World's Largest Dunkin' Donuts Opens
In 1980, Dunkin' Donuts set out to prove bigger was better. The chain opened its largest location yet in Bangkok, Thailand (not pictured). While the concept of Dunkin' Donuts centers around fast in-and-out service, the brand welcomed donut fans and coffee drinkers to sit down and stay awhile with seating for 130.
1982: "Time To Make The Donuts!"
Dunkin' Donuts aired its first network TV commercial in 1978, but it was in 1982 that one of its campaigns became a national treasure. Actor Michael Vale captured America's donut-loving hearts as Fred the Baker, who gave us the catchiest of catchphrases: "Time to make the donuts!" Fred was synonymous with Dunkin' Donuts until the chain decided to end the campaign in 1997 in a real bummer move.
1994: Donuts And Ice Cream, A Match Made In Heaven
Allied Domecq PLC purchased Dunkin' Donuts in 1990. Through a series of mergers, Allied also had beloved ice cream chain Baskin Robbins under its belt. In 1994, Allied formed Dunkin' Brands, Inc. from both Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins. This laid the groundwork for joint locations popping all over the country, so that customers could get coffee, donuts, and ice cream all in the same place. The rest is very delicious history.
1995: Dunkin' Donuts' 1000th International Location Opens
It took 16 years for Dunkin' to go from 100 United States locations to 1,000, and then another 16 years for it to reach 1,000 international locations. The honor of the chain's thousandth location went to Thailand, making it both the home of Dunkin's largest location and its milestone thousandth. By this point, Dunkin' Donuts was up to 3,000 locations in the U.S., and was showing no signs of slowing down.
1995: Hazelnut And French Vanilla Join The Coffee Lineup
The year 1995 was big for Dunkin' Donuts. It's hard to imagine this haven for coffee flavors and variations and twists only serving an original blend, but there wasn't much selection for java until French vanilla and hazelnut got the ball rolling in '95. Today, there are even unique coffee flavors, and we have this little expansion in the nineties to thank.
1996: Dunkin' Bagels
According to Slate, America was fully under the spell of bagels by the mid-1990s. Chains like Einstein Bros. led the charge, but breakfast master Dunkin' Donuts wasn't about to let such a big corner of the market go untouched. Perhaps thanks to the fact that you could get a freshly baked bagel at the same place as Dunkin's famous coffee, the brand was the country's number-one bagel seller within a year.
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