By Payton Stephens
The international coffee/café franchise Dunkin’ Donuts is making its way to the streets of Bluffton. The future opening was announced at the July 27 Bluffton Village Council meeting.
Frequent coffee drinkers and caffeine addicts are awaiting the grand opening.
“I’m looking forward to Dunkin’ because I hate having to drive so far to get my favorite coffee,” said Emily Dyson, a sophomore exercise science major. “But I know I will probably be drinking coffee way more once it opens, so that’s not good.”
Bluffton’s most recent set of updates has included tearing down the building formerly known as Burger King located off OH-103 and being rebuilt as a Dunkin’ Donuts.
With the closest Dunkin’ Donuts being a 20-minute commute to either Lima or Findlay, the idea of having one so close could be seen as a benefit to some. Bluffton University students also realize this may be a cheaper option.
Samantha Urban, a sophomore criminal justice and social work major, with Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Photo by Payton Stephens.
“I really like to drink my coffee a lot, and it would be easier to have a [Dunkin’ Donuts] in Bluffton rather than having to drive to Lima or Findlay every time, wasting gas, when I can just go down the road and get it,” said Samantha Urban, sophomore social work and criminal justice major.
According to their corporate website, Dunkin’ Donuts first opened its franchise in 1955 in Quincy, Massachusetts, and grew to more than 100 locations in less than a decade. Today there are approximately 11,000 locations internationally.
Some may wonder how local businesses will be affected and if the small café in town will stay as busy once Dunkin’ Donuts has its grand opening.
The Twisted Whisk Café, located on South Main Street, is a place where university students and community members gather to relax with a cup of seasonally flavored coffee.
“We have actually discussed this, and the thing is with us being small—you know, not a franchise—we can easily change things when we need to adapt … and most people have said it’s going to be highway traffic, and most of our customers are walk ins,” said Samantha Erter, owner of the Twisted Whisk Café.
An exact opening date for Dunkin’ Donuts has not yet been made public.
