Dunkin’ Donuts Fulfills Prophecy, Opens Store In California

As it was foretold in the early days (of 2013), Dunkin’ Donuts, the chain once banished from the shores of the Pacific Southwest (okay, so the few that existed closed in the ’90s because of slow sales) has returned to sugar-up the mornings of Californians (or at least those who happen to be near the one open location in Santa Monica).

Yes, Dunkin’ Donuts — a company whose near omnipresence everyone in the Mid-Atlantic and New England has long taken for granted — opened its first official SoCal store this morning in Santa Monica, where some claim that people waited more than a dozen hours for their morning Munchkins at 5 a.m. today.

Of course, there was a material reason for those first 100 folks to get in line — free swag. And the first person in line scored a year’s worth of free coffee from the double D.

That lucky fella tells KTLA that he’d actually been camping out since 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, meaning he put in around 30 hours of waiting outside for his prime spot.

“I’m originally from Connecticut, so I love Dunkin’ Donuts and I’m glad it’s in California now,” said the man, who apparently had nothing better to do this holiday.

Dunkin’ stores weren’t supposed to open in the area until 2015, but the company sped up the launch process earlier this year in the hopes of making up for lackluster sales during the winter.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist