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Restaurants & Stores, ACTION ALERT, Maryland/DC

Dunkin’ Donuts Corporation forcing stores to go treyf

By jabbett
Published February, 16 2007 1:09 pm
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According to the Washington Jewish Week, at least three Washington area Dunkin’ Donuts stores will be forced into selling non-kosher products by spring, due to the parent corporation’s continually expanding menu options.

Technically, the edict from corporate brass stated that franchiser Jim Willard could “no longer make menu modifications.” As such, he must serve the sausage, bacon, and other treyfa delights currently absent from his stores.

Naturally, this should raise the wider community’s collective hackles — will the kosher Dunkin’ eateries in other Jewish locales be next? It’s time to act — contact Dunkin’ Brands, Inc. with your dismay:

Dunkin’ Brands, Inc.
E-mail: customerservice@dunkinbrands.com
Phone: 800-859-5339
Fax: 781-737-4000
Mail: 130 Royall Street, Canton, MA 02021

Of course, this might be the perfect opportunity for enterprising entreprenuers to open kosher Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf franchises across the east coast. Boy, do I miss that place.

10 comments so far (Post your own)
1.At 2:07 pm on February 16th, 2007, Andrew Greene wrote:

I just got off the phone with Dunkin customer service. They assured me that this was a misleading story and that it was the decision of the franchisee to give up his kosher status and there are no edicts coming down from corporate.

Having said that, it can’t hurt for lots of people to call them and let them know that we as a community do care about these things.

2.At 4:17 pm on February 16th, 2007, DeisCane wrote:

We shouldn’t be eating that dreck anyhow.

3.At 10:46 pm on February 17th, 2007, Meredith wrote:

Andrew, thanks for the suggestion. I plan on calling corporate on Monday.

I can’t imagine how it is in DD’s financial interests to impose this policy on the kosher franchises. I live in Flatbush, where there are several kosher DDs–at least four within a half-hour walk of my home–and I can’t imagine any of them surviving more than a month if they lose their heksheirim. The neighborhood simply does not have a large enough non-kosher market to keep them viable. (I suspect that this is the reason Flatbush is one of the few neighborhoods left in America that doesn’t have a Starbucks.)

4.At 11:48 pm on February 17th, 2007, jabbett wrote:

I tend to agree with you, DeisCane, but quite a few people actually enjoy their stuff. So long as some Jew likes DD’s spongy bagels or sour coffee, we should stick up for his ability to get it kosher.

5.At 12:15 am on February 18th, 2007, Meredith wrote:

You forgot the over-processed donuts.

That having been sasid, it’s not that DD is so good as much as the fact that, in many areas, it’s one of the few (if not only) Kosher fast-food options available.

I live in an Orthodox neighborhood where I walk past both an excellent bakery and a fine bagel shop just to hit the closest DD, and if I get a Coolata craving I can just as easily walk one more block to the 7-11 which uses kosher Slurpee syrups exclusively. But I’m the minority on this one. From what I’ve been reading, there are a _lot_ of workers in the D.C. area who are going to lose their only option for purchasing a kosher breakfast and lunch on the job.

6.At 10:13 pm on February 18th, 2007, DeisCane wrote:

Dunkin’s latest email reply:
Dunkin’ Donuts has learned that you received an inaccurate email alleging
that all kosher Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants will be required to sell
non-kosher products.

Supporting our franchisees in meeting customers’ needs is a top priority for
us. Currently, more than thirty Dunkin’ Donuts franchise owners nationwide
have responded to community needs by obtaining kosher certification for
their restaurants.

7.At 8:57 pm on February 19th, 2007, deena wrote:

Coffee Bean and Tealeaf would be AMAZING esp. given their recent (2 years?) upgraded kosher status on their bakery goods. The owners are religious jews so it would be nice to patronize a jewish establishment- However, I heard that they will not be opening on the east coast.

8.At 2:40 pm on February 20th, 2007, Bruce James wrote:

I, too, just got off the phone with Dunkin Donuts’ national customer relations office. They say that national HQ did indeed order the Potomac Md franchise to cease menu modifications. They said that kosher stores in other areas are not affected by the order, however. It makes me think that DD doesn’t think that the Potomac store is getting enough kosher business to justify not serving treif. I look forward to their written response.

9.At 11:55 pm on March 14th, 2007, jabbett wrote:

This posting linked to, and quoted in a Washington Post blog entry.

10.At 9:13 am on March 27th, 2008, Marilyn Davis wrote:

I pray as a granddaughter of a Rabbi that the places that are Kosher remain. The demand of the community to have certain items in a restaurant will just encourage others to go there. Once they get the proper Kosher license why would they start carrying the items that are forbidden? It sounds to me that it is a respect thing. Can’t we have a a little consideration for people? I have latex
allergy, & others have peanut allergies. The public health has helped protect adults & children with these conditions so that they
don’t serve with gloves & at least tell you if the food has been processed with peanuts. It is no joke. Someone could die! Sincerely, Marilyn Davis R.N. of Marilynskincare& Wellness

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