Dunkin' Donuts Announces Execution of First Development Agreements in Southern California Totaling 45 New Restaurants

CANTON, Mass., July 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Dunkin' Donuts, America's all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods, and one of the fastest growing quick service restaurant (QSR) brands based on unit growth, announced today it has signed its first Southern California multi-unit store development agreements with four franchise groups for a total commitment of 45 new restaurants. The first standalone restaurants are expected to open in 2015 in Orange and Los Angeles counties. Some non-traditional Dunkin' Donuts locations may open over the next several months. 

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In January, Dunkin' Donuts began recruiting multi-unit operators for Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Ventura and Orange counties, with a long-term goal of having more than 15,000 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in the United States. In addition to traditional restaurants, the company is actively identifying franchisees to open a wide range of non-traditional venues including colleges, universities, casinos, military bases, supermarkets, airports and travel centers.

Frontier Group, led by local businessmen Dan Almquist and Robert Jonas, signed the company's first California development agreement to develop 18 restaurants in Central Orange County and the South Bay Coastal region of Los Angeles County. Gary Haar, an existing Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins franchisee with six locations in New Jersey, and his partner, Steve Silverstein, will develop 10 restaurants throughout the Westside, Santa Monica, Hollywood and Malibu in Los Angeles County.  Danny and Coby Sonenshine, founders of Prell Restaurant Group, plan to develop 16 restaurants in central Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.  Also, existing franchisees Jason Duffy and Bert Hayenga will develop a location in the iconic Barstow Station building in Barstow.

"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."

"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," added Grant Benson, CFE, Vice President of Franchising and Business Development, Dunkin' Brands.  "For a limited time, special development incentives are available, including reduced royalty fees in the early years and a $10,000 local store marketing contribution by the company for qualifying franchisees."

In an effort to keep the brand fresh and competitive, 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. Unlike other quick-service restaurants, Dunkin' Donuts allows franchisees to select individual elements from any of the four options, creating a restaurant design that reflects their personal tastes and preferences, and best serves their specific restaurant size and location.

For more information about Dunkin' Donuts franchising, visit www.dunkinfranchising.com.

To learn more about Dunkin' Donuts, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/DunkinDonuts) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/DunkinDonuts).

About Dunkin' Donuts

Founded in 1950, Dunkin' Donuts is America's favorite all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods. Dunkin' Donuts is a market leader in the hot regular/decaf/flavored coffee, iced coffee, donut, bagel and muffin categories. Dunkin' Donuts has earned the No. 1 ranking for customer loyalty in the coffee category by Brand Keys for seven years running. The company has more than 10,500 restaurants in 31 countries worldwide. For the full-year 2012, Dunkin' Donuts' restaurants had global franchisee-reported sales of approximately $6.9 billion. Based in Canton, Mass., Dunkin' Donuts is part of the Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN) family of companies. For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains projections and other forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These projections and statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. No assurances can be given, however, that these events will occur or that these projections will be achieved, and actual results could differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risk factors. A discussion of these risk factors is included in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Dunkin' Donuts