New Agreements Bring Dunkin' Donuts to Southern California

CANTON, Mass. -- Southern California is getting its first standalone Dunkin' Donuts restaurants. The locations are slated to open in 2015.

The move into the west coast region comes after the quick-service restaurant (QSR) company signed multi-store development agreements with four franchise groups for a total commitment of 45 new sites. In addition, some non-traditional Dunkin' Donuts locations may open over the next several months, according to the company.

Dunkin' Donuts began looking for multi-unit operators for Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Ventura and Orange counties in January. The expansion falls in line with the company's long-term goals to have more than 15,000 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in the United States.

The QSR brand is also looking into the possibility of opening locations in non-traditional venues including colleges, universities, casinos, military bases, supermarkets, airports and travel centers.

The first deal, with Frontier Group, calls for 18 restaurants in central Orange County and the South Bay Coastal region of Los Angeles County. Frontier Group is led by local businessmen Dan Almquist and Robert Jonas.

The second deal, with Gary Haar and his partner Steve Silverstein, calls for 10 restaurants throughout the Westside, Santa Monica, Hollywood and Malibu in Los Angeles County. Haar is an existing Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins franchisee with six locations in New Jersey.

In the third deal, Danny and Coby Sonenshine, founders of Prell Restaurant Group, plan to develop 16 restaurants in central Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.

In the fourth deal, existing franchisees Jason Duffy and Bert Hayenga will develop a location in the iconic Barstow Station building in Barstow, Calif.

"We have had an overwhelming response by prospective franchisees interested in opening Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in Southern California, and we are delighted to see both existing and new franchisee groups, each of whom has tremendous business experience, bring Dunkin' Donuts to The Golden State," said Paul Twohig, president, Dunkin' Donuts U.S. & Canada. "Our continued focus on franchisee profitability and restaurant economics has made our long-awaited expansion into California possible, and we continue to believe that Dunkin' Donuts has tremendous domestic growth opportunities both east and west of the Mississippi."

Dunkin' Donuts offers franchisees flexible design concepts including free-standing stores, end caps, in-line sites, kiosks and gas stations, as well as other retail environments.

Last month the company unveiled a new restaurant design, the brand's first in nearly seven years. The new look includes four distinct restaurant design options for franchisees, each featuring variations in layout, color schemes, graphics, textures, furniture and lighting. The concepts called Original Blend, Cappuccino Blend, Dark Roast and Jazz Brew are designed to enhance the current restaurant appearance, environment and layout to serve people all day long.

"As we develop Southern California, we continue to look for qualified, multi-unit franchise candidates with foodservice, operations and real estate experience who want to become part of a nationally established restaurant concept with more than 60 years of franchising experience and 95 percent brand recognition," said Grant Benson, vice president of franchising and business development, Dunkin' Brands Group Inc.