Associated with the working man's coffee break, Dunkin' Donuts catered to Americans' desire for a strong cup of coffee and a sweet treat long before Starbucks' coffee shops first started selling fancy pastries and gourmet coffee. Started in 1950, Dunkin' Donuts was ranked by Entrepreneur and Franchise Times magazines as one of the top franchises of 1998, when it was operating over 3,700 stores in 21 countries worldwide. In addition to coffee and doughnuts, the retail chain, with its ubiquitous pink and orange signs, sells muffins, bagels, and other bakery products. The world's largest chain of coffee and doughnut shops in the 1990s, founder William Rosenberg developed the chain from a string of canteen trucks after World War II. He bequeathed the business to his son Robert, who had managed doughnut shops during summer breaks from Harvard Business School. In 1989, Allied Domecq PLC, a British-based food and beverage conglomerate, whose portfolio of American quick service restaurants also includes Baskin-Robbins ice cream stores and Togo's sandwich shops, acquired Dunkin' Donuts. Dunkin' Donuts is Allied Domecq's flagship American operation, accounting for 70 percent of its total United States sales of $2.5 billion in 1998.

Further Reading:

Allen, Robin Lee. "It's Time to Leave the Donuts: Dunkin's Rosenberg Retires." Nation's Restaurant News. June 2, 1998.

Carrol, F. Food Business Reference on Donut Shops and Other Pastry Shops. N.p., Prosperity and Profit Unlimited, 1984.