Dunkin Donuts as a Third Space in Jacksonville?

[Metro Jacksonville]

Dunkin Donuts as a Third Space in Jacksonville?



Founded in 1950, Canton, MA-based Dunkin' Donuts has grown into a global company with more than 10,000 restaurants in 32 countries and $6.4 billion in annual sales.  However, RYAD Ventures, LLC, a Jacksonville franchisee, has created a new prototype intended to transform their locations into "Third Space" atmospheres.


Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2013-feb-dunkin-donuts-as-a-third-space-in-jacksonville

[thekillingwax]

Interesting but I can't see myself saying "Gotta go hang out at Dunkin Donuts!". I don't drink coffee but I've heard that people like their brand but I cannot honestly ever recall buying their donuts. I've eaten them, sure but it's always because someone else brought them. They aren't bad but they certainly don't make me want to spend a lot of time at the place.

[fsujax]

We need one Downtown! screw Starbucks...i want my DD.

[copperfiend]

Their coffee is better than Starbucks

[spuwho]

DD has made a comback as of late.

I had given up on them when they were pretty much roach motels back in the 80's.

We used to joke that if you needed a cop past midnight, just drive over to DD instead of dialing 911. Faster response time.

[KenFSU]

Really interesting concept, but in order to thrive as a third space, I think DD will need to find a way to offer a wider variety of healthy choices. I'm not adverse to "habitually congregating" at Dunkin Donuts, but with so much health information out there these days, it's hard to justify making such high saturated fat intake a regular part of your week. Give me more soups, salads, smoothies, sandwiches, etc. and I'd be a regular though.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Ken, I haven't been in a bit, but I'm pretty sure that they do offer several low-cal, low-carb healthy 'er' choices at their standalone stores.

[Riverrat]

If they are trying to go after a more "Starbucks" type of environment, where people go to just hang out, study, read, etc., then they should:

- Focus more on their coffee and add healthier options.
- Consider a name change to "Dunkin's" and a less offensive color palate.
- With dropping "Donuts" from their name, they should also drop having the "KenTacoHut" syndrome of having multiple brands under one roof. Instead of Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robins under one roof, it should just be "Dunkin's" and they should just happen to serve Baskin Robins.
- Open in more urban, walkable communities instead of a focus on suburban, drive thru locales.

Just my opinion and two cents.

[Overstreet]

Interesting..............the one on Hendrixs at San Marco used to tell us we should have called ahead if we ordered more than a dozen. So we planned ahead and bought  pastries for the office from Paneras in the burbs and coffee from Starbucks in San Marco.  It appears to me that Starbucks or Paneras are more of a gathering place in Mandarin/st Johns. 

Duncan Doughnuts has opened up at the old Lubis location on Sunbeam but the location isn't the best and I'm tainted by the managers "call ahead" remarks at San Marco. I won't be gathering there.

[Roger904]

The San Marco location on Hendricks would need a full remodel to become a Third Space.  Need to get rid of the cold stark McDonalds-style and embrace the warm Starbucks-style interior. 
   

[Ocklawaha]

Only 1/3 of the comments are very positive thus far, seems the product/s or the two chains suffer from a image problem. Food isn't right, too sweet, too salty, too fat and the interior is the wrong color, wrong size or wrong layout. Overall it seems like a good idea to me but until Dunkin offers a carmel frap with soy milk, or Krispy Kreme, cream filled donuts, my wife will be the only occasional customer from my household.

[Shwaz]

Count me in as one preferring DD to Starbucks. DD has the best coffee IMO and it's an every day thing when I'm traveling for work... especially in the NE where DD are Literally on every corner. 

Really interesting concept, but in order to thrive as a third space, I think DD will need to find a way to offer a wider variety of healthy choices. I'm not adverse to "habitually congregating" at Dunkin Donuts, but with so much health information out there these days, it's hard to justify making such high saturated fat intake a regular part of your week. Give me more soups, salads, smoothies, sandwiches, etc. and I'd be a regular though.

They do have low cal / low carb selections on the menu  http://www.dunkindonuts.com/content/dunkindonuts/en/menu/nutrition/ddsmart.html

[Adam W]

I always preferred 7-Eleven coffee to Dunkin Donuts coffee, though I think Dunkin Donuts would probably offer a better option as a "third space".

[KenFSU]

They do have low cal / low carb selections on the menu  http://www.dunkindonuts.com/content/dunkindonuts/en/menu/nutrition/ddsmart.html

Looking over the "health smart" menu, it's a pretty limited selection though, consisting of one muffin (at 400 calories!), one multi-grain bagel (with as many carbs as two slices of Dominos pizza combined), oatmeal, and a handful of breakfast based egg flatbreads and sandwiches. Personally speaking, there's nothing on the menu that would make me want to grab my iPad and seek out a Dunkin Donuts as a place to have lunch or dinner and hang out. Get breakfast on my way to work? Absolutely. But to spend time in as a third place like I would at a Panera Bread, Au Bon Pain, or even a Starbucks, probably not. It's just too breakfast oriented. You can only eat so much egg and sausage. Like I mentioned previously, add some high quality soups and salads (nothing fancy, even Wendys enjoyed incredible success after adding a few premium salads), utilize their baking equipment to produce some good artistan breads (rather than serving everything on a bagel or english muffin), and even add a few pastries that aren't necessarily bland, one-note donuts or softball sized muffins and I'm all in