Dunkin' Donuts Fuels Growth In Charleston, South Carolina With The Opening Of New Self-Serves At 10 Hess Locations

CANTON, Mass., Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Dunkin' Donuts, America's all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods, announced today that existing franchisee George Ross, chief executive of Coastal Franchising LLC, has partnered with Hess Corporation to own and operate Dunkin' Donuts self-serve restaurants in 10 Hess locations in the greater Charleston, S.C., area. In 2007, Coastal Franchising LLC acquired four Dunkin' Donuts franchises in Charleston and has since added five more restaurants to its portfolio. With this announcement, they will own Dunkin' Donuts self-serves at Hess locations and nine standalone Dunkin' Donuts restaurants.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110217/MM50839LOGO )

The first two Hess self-service units located at 8976 University Boulevard in North Charleston, and 1401 Old Trolley Road in Summerville, will both open on Friday, November 9, with the remaining eight self-serve units scheduled to open by mid-December, which include:

• 1602 Highway #7, Charleston
• 3208 Ladson Road, Ladson
• 3490 Ashley Phosphate Road, North Charleston
• 2685 Ashley Phosphate Road, North Charleston
• 971 A Crowfield Boulevard, Goose Creek
• 8620 Dorchester Road, North Charleston
• 2245 Savannah Highway, Charleston
• 4306 Ladson Road, Ladson  

"As existing Dunkin' Donuts franchisees, George Ross and his team possess a wealth of knowledge on the brand, and we are thrilled they are expanding their network in Charleston," said Grant Benson, CFE, vice president of development, Dunkin' Brands. "The opening of these new locations is a great opportunity to expand the reach of the Dunkin' Donuts brand, while offering Charleston's on-the-go consumers a convenient place to enjoy high-quality coffee and baked goods."

To celebrate the grand openings, each restaurant will offer guests free product samplings every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the first four weeks of operation. All 10 restaurants will be open seven days a week and offer a limited self-serve menu of Dunkin' Donuts' internationally recognized coffee, donuts and bakery goods.

"Dunkin' Donuts is one of the world's leading brands, and it has also become a favorite in Charleston," said George Ross, chief executive, Coastal Franchising LLC.  "We are thrilled to bring Dunkin' Donuts' high-quality products to a new foodservice venue in the region, and hope to become a popular destination for guests amidst their daily routines and busy travel schedules."

Building a solid network of stores within a market enables Dunkin' Donuts to invest in a distribution model that provides consistent, high-quality products that guests expect. In an effort to keep the brand fresh and competitive, Dunkin' Donuts offers flexible concepts for any real estate format including free-standing restaurants, end caps, in-line sites, gas and convenience, travel plazas, universities, as well as other retail environments. 

"We are thrilled at the opportunity to provide greater value to our customers in Charleston by offering an outstanding brand such as Dunkin' Donuts," said Joe Novack, Hess Corporation, Suneast Regional Director. "We see this is an important step in our commitment to delivering a great experience for our customers and continuing to grow our brand."

Hess Corporation, with headquarters in New York, is a global integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, production, purchase, transportation and sale of crude oil and natural gas, as well as the production and sale of refined petroleum products, natural gas and electricity. Hess is one of the leading independent gasoline-convenience retailers on the East Coast with more than 1,360 stations and convenience stores in 18 states including 65 Hess branded locations in South Carolina. For more information, please visit www.hessexpress.com.

Since the 1950s, Dunkin' Donuts has been a daily ritual for millions of people. For more than 60 years, Dunkin' Donuts has offered delicious food, beverages, and friendly service at a great value. To best serve its guests, Dunkin' Donuts offers an all-day menu including iced coffee, flavored coffees, lattes, Dunkin' Donuts K-Cup® Packs, Coolatta® frozen drinks, muffins, bagels, breakfast sandwiches, and a DDSMART® menu featuring better-for-you items.

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 regular/decaf coffee, iced coffee, hot flavored 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 six years running. The company has more than 10,000 restaurants in 32 countries worldwide. For the full-year 2011, Dunkin' Donuts' restaurants had global franchisee-reported sales of approximately $6.4 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. 

For more information, visit www.dunkinfranchising.com.

CONTACT:
Rachel Tabacnic
Fish Consulting
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SOURCE Dunkin' Donuts