Donut Hole: Eating as We Want to Be

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Brian Wright

The changing face of Planet Foodalicious
by Brian Wright

Pam, pretty woman from India behind the counter, the manager I’ve got to know at Dunkin’ Donuts down the road, gave me another survey to take at telldunkin.com in return for a free soft drink with a donut… or is it the other way around? No need to get into the culinary promotions of a modern fast food giant; the idea is to find out what the customers are thinking to better satisfy them. Which is how it’s supposed to be in a free market world. Anyway, this isn’t the first time I’ve had something to say about ol’ Dunkin’… which is rather an icon of corporate gobbledom started by an entrepreneurial Yankee back in the 50s. Continue reading →

Guest Column: Motor City Rambles

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Brian Wright

Dunkin’ Donuts, Shots, Old Drivers, Christian Dating
by John Worster

Picking up where we’ve left off with my good friend John Worster, former mixologist and Detroit-area working man, entrepreneur, and, lately, social critic. I always look forward to JW’s rapid-fire take on things absurd or out of sorts in our neck of the universe. The acronym ROFLMAO had to originate in his imagination. I hope one day he will write a book, because it will be therapeutic to be its editor. In this column John responds to my own bit of daily-grind observations about the famous Dunkin’ Donuts enterprise and its foibles. Continue reading →

Brian’s Column: Spillin’ with Dunkin’

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Brian Wright

“America [gets the?] runs on Dunkin’ Donuts”
by Brian Wright (orig. 4/25/11)

Let’s just start out by stating that in my humble opinion (IMHO) Dunkin’ Donuts’ coffee stands only slightly above used motor oil on any sober taster’s choice scale. But that doesn’t keep the product out of the hands of millions of, obviously hungover, world customers, daily. What William Rosenberg began in Massachusetts after WW2 as a catering business featuring coffee-break snacks, became the franchise operation Dunkin’ Donuts (DD) in 1950; initially DD also focused mainly on the pastries. Now, according to its corporate info, “over half of Dunkin’ Donuts business today is in coffee, making it more of a competitor to Starbucks…” as opposed to its traditional baked goods competitors. Continue reading →