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Outrage in Brookline as Dunkin' Donuts attempts to open another location
By adamg on Wed, 06/19/2013 - 7:40pm
Wicked Local Brookline reports residents gathered copious amounts of righteous indignation before attending a hearing on a Dunkin' Donuts in Washington Square:
"You're putting something in that clashes pretty horribly with what the town has done to create this attractive destination," he said. "I'm profoundly disappointed that we're getting a Dunkin' Donuts instead of something people will be looking forward to."
Selectmen, however, approved a food-serving license for the new shop. One noted the world did not end the last time Washington Square had a Dunkin' Donuts.
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Comments
Clashes horribly?
Yeah, the one in Harvard Square has the orange and purple motif and is a gaping eyesore, and this location won't comply at all with neighborhood demands for design.
Seriously, I really dislike white people. This is what you have to complain about? Let's trade lives for a day. I'll live in your tony Brookline home and you can share a toilet with five people.
I didn't know only white
I didn't know only white people lived in Brookline. I must need glasses. You think only white people care about having independent locally owned shops in their neighborhood? That's bigoted thinking.
I've never seen a non-white person comment on...
...the retail offerings of Washington Square. Prove me wrong.
You see the skin color of
You see the skin color of people commenting on the internet? Impressive!
Most Dunkin' Donutes ARE independnt and locally owned shops.
For your information.
Most Dunkin' Donuts ARE independent and locally owned shops.
For your information.
Okay, buddy. It's a massive
Okay, buddy. It's a massive international corporate chain. It's a franchise. Get it?
White Guilt City
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/12/03/the-wa...
Hey Will, FYI you're White Bro!
Thank you so much
Because I don't have mirrors in my home and never have in the 30 years I've been alive.
It must be so hard
knowing someone who you didn't know was enslaved by someone who you also didn't know over 200 years ago.
I personally blame myself for the Soviet Famine.
These people should be exiled
These people should be exiled from Massachusetts.
Kosher?
Maybe this one will be under kosher supervision like the last Washington square one was. Fingers crossed (or twisted into a star of david).
Story says no
Are there any kosher DD's around here?
Not anymore.
Washington Sq. closed and the one on Rt. 9 went treif a few years after going kosher. I assume the additional traffic from the frum community just didn't materialize (again, which is why we can't have nice things).
My bet
My bet is that since all of them use the same factory donuts now, there is no way to guarantee Kosher unless they did it at the factory too and that would be too costly to their profit margin.
No, there are plenty of
No, there are plenty of kosher DD stores in the NYC area, Baltimore, Miami, Chicago, et al.
The old kosher DD in Wash.
The old kosher DD in Wash. Sq. always seemed pretty crowded. When I would go there during the morning rush there was always a line, and the place was always mobbed right before and right after Passover. I heard they closed because the landlord raised the rent on them. The storefront sat empty for more than a year afterwards.
Kosher Dunkin Donuts
I haven't seen them in the Boston area, but they do exist--there is one in Pittsburgh. I think it does not serve meat.
Dunkin Donuts Never Fit In There
I lived in Washington Square back when Beans was still in a tiny space, roasting their own coffee in the store. Over time, they grew and moved into a larger space. It got taken over by the Starbucks invasion of the mid-90s. That was a sad day for Washington Square. While Vinny Testa's and the Star Market were the first major chains, they were both a few blocks down Beacon and didn't really throw off the vibe of the neighborhood. But Starbucks and later Dunkin Donuts made it feel decidedly more generic. I actually think there's a 7-11 or Store 24 or something there now, too.
In terms of one of the other commenters' opinions about white people and sharing toilets, I think that people of any race and economic status should take pride in their neighborhood. I've lived in a number of different neighborhoods, here and abroad, with diverse groups of people. I've always found that when a few people start caring and leading by example, others chip in, and the results DO make a difference in the way people feel about their neighbors, the neighborhood and their own self-esteem. And its not just rich white people who take the initiative. Why discourage anyone from caring?
You can't escape Dunkin
You can't escape Dunkin Donuts around here. I'm surprised they haven't bought the naming rights for Fenway Park yet. It's just a matter of time... sadly.
Dunkin Donuts should have
Dunkin Donuts should have sponsored Hubway. The marketing tie ins with the rush hour commuters would have been priceless.
I see the whiners point
DD would never fit in with a 7-11 and a liquor store. The orange/brown color scheme is so gauche. I'm just not feeling it.
While I hate DD's coffee
In my neighborhood, there are non-chain alternatives for coffee. However, if I want a large-enough cup to get me going in the morning, DD is my only option. Most places that serve a good-sized cup to-go (and a higher quality cup) do not open until later.
My DD location is on the ground floor of my building, and ironically, has the nicest signage of all the ground floor tenants. They have a nice black awning with all gold lettering.
Perhaps you'll end up with a nice owner and nice staff in Washington Square, as we have in Central Square Lynn. They even put flyers for local events in their window. How many DD locations do that?
Furthermore, no DD's ever kept out an independent coffee establishment. They have different audiences/different clientele. I don't even consider them to have the same products.
Much agreement
Russian Village strikes me as a larger than average space for a Dunkin' Donuts. Reason to be cautiously optimistic that they'll use the space to hit at least the ceiling of DD store design (thinking of one out on Trapelo Road in Belmont with a cheesy decorative fireplace).
Another small grocer would have been nice there, but is this not better than another bank branch or daycare? And yeah, Cafe Fixe across the street blinketh not -- they're in a separate stratosphere with their for-here-only espresso and their collection of Miles vinyls. They will remain a place to go rather than a place to get going.
Really?
What coffee places don't open up at breakfast time?
I just hate DD so much and not because they're tacky or a chain or have ugly signage. Their coffee sucks. It's weak, watery, and horrible and half the time it's flavored with fake blueberries or fake hazelnuts or some other disgusting thing. And the doughnuts...sorry, but they suck too. It's been years since DD produced a baked good superior to anything you could get on an airplane or at a free hotel breakfast buffet. It's all mushy, frozen, crust less, crunchless crap, and I say that as someone who dearly loves a good doughnut. I guess it was all over when they stopped making "crullahs" and started making "sticks."
They open for breakfast, but...
The few that are also already open early enough for commuters rather than just locals are not in the grab-a-cup and go business. They're more like luncheonettes and diners and their coffee cups are all too small. It would likely take longer to get a cup, too. That's just the way they decide to do business. I go to them on weekends. I would not call them "gourmet" coffee purveyors, either. Just honest ones.
I can't eat donuts anymore, so I don't even care about the food aspect...though didn't I just read DD will have gluten free options, now? I bet they'll be horrible, but at least I'd be able to eat them without spending the rest of the day on toilet. Just being honest!
Brookline residents are probably accustomed to having more options, except for the option to park on their own streets at night. I'll never get that. People used to ask me why I didn't live in Brookline when they found out I was Jewish, which I thought was a very odd question, but the answer was always, "No way." When I lived in town, I was always more comfortable in Allston or JP.
blueberry coffee???
Wait a sec, that's a joke, right? Blueberry flavored coffee?? Dunkin Donuts' coffee is so terrible that their customers prefer it to be flavored with artificial blueberry syrup as opposed to just drinking a cup of plain old Dunkin brew? People, that's nasty!
Maybe not anymore, but ...
Our Man Spatch once had the misfortune of trying some:
I love blueberries
Blueberry coffee is the worst coffee I ever tasted. It's worse than public school teacher's room coffee. It's worse than gas station coffee that isn't even Green Mountain brand. I'll keep my blueberries and coffee separate from one another.
You took one for the team there...
I seem to remember that they also did a coconut coffee...the mind just reels.
I definitely do NOT need to be eating doughnuts or more pastries (though I'm lucky to live within six blocks of several great bakery-coffee shops) but I wish that DD was an actual guilty pleasure than just a waste of space.
To each their own...
I actually worked at the former Dunkin Donuts in Washington Square for a summer, and there was a lady who came in every morning who asked for a blueberry-coconut iced coffee. I tried it once, definitely don't recommend it. I do like some of the other flavors though. That said, I'm not much of a coffee fan.
Blueberry coffee......
The DD blueberry coffee is indeed horrible (I believe they add the flavor after it is brewed), but 7-11 used to have a blueberry coffee which I thought was outstanding. I have not seen it in 7-11s in a long time though.
HA!
Thanks so much for reminding me of this. Spousal Unit and I went around saying "hello I taste like blueberries" every time we passed a DD for months.
(No, we didn't get a life at that point. We just moved on to other similarly ridiculous things to do. Thank you for asking.)
When breakfast time is earlier than everyone else's
I used to have a job where I had to be at work at 6:45 am on a Saturday. Dunkin was the only place open between my house and work at 6:30 when I wanted my blueberry muffin with the giant sugar crystals on the top (back before they shrunk it to the "new healthy portion size!" grr.)
Oh, for chrissakes.
Aren't there enough Dunkin' Donuts around? Why is another one needed?