Dunkin’ Donuts is continuing its move into California with five new franchise agreements that will bring 63 new units to the San Francisco Bay area, Palm Springs and Bakersfield over the next few years, the operator said Monday.
With the agreements, Canton, Mass.-based parent Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. has 250 of the coffee chain units in development across the Golden State, where 1,000 locations are projected over the long term.
Dunkin’s latest wave of franchising is really a return to the West Coast. In the 1990s, there were more than a dozen outlets open in California, but by the early 2000s, all had closed.
Dunkin’ Donuts now operates units in Santa Monica, Calif., as well as the cities of Modesto, Downey and San Diego, and at the Camp Pendleton military base.
Before the end of the year, locations are scheduled to open in Long Beach and Whittier, Calif., the company said.
The franchise agreements announced Monday include:
• California Donut Kings LLC, led by existing franchisees Vipul Patel, Vishal Shah, Jamie Dejuras, Chetan Jani and Haresh Patel, plans to develop 26 units in San Francisco and the surrounding area, with the first scheduled to open in 2016. The group currently operates more than 100 Dunkin’ Donuts locations.
• Chandi Group USA CVDD Inc. plans to open eight restaurants in the Palm Springs area and Imperial County starting in 2015. The group is led by Nachhattar Chandi.
• Top Brand Donuts LLC is planning eight units in the Monterey area. The group is led by existing franchisees Ray Alaigh, Surinder Singh and new franchisee Gurneer Dadwal.
• Existing franchise operator CT Coffee LLC, led by Theodore Zafiris, plans to open 13 units in the San Jose area, with the first location opening in 2016.
• Frontier Restaurant Group, led by existing franchise operators Dan Almquist and Robert Jonas, is planning eight restaurants in and around Bakersfield, with the first opening in 2015.
Dunkin’ Brands ended its third quarter on Sept. 27 with nearly 11,000 Dunkin’ Donuts units and 7,300 Baskin-Robbins locations around the world.
Company officials have said the U.S. could have more than 17,000 Dunkin’ Donuts location over the long term, which is an increase over the 15,000 projected when the company went public in 2011.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
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