The last two times I bought donuts from what used to be Dunkin' Donuts, we had found them less-than-satisfactory. But this morning my wife and I had a craving for donuts. So, against my better judgement, I spent nearly 15 minutes driving to the closest Dunkin' used-to-be-Donuts.

Lobby closed. Got in the drive-through line, only to get to the menu and find the store that used to be Dunkin' Donuts doesn't list, you know, donuts on the menu. Got lots of other stuff you can buy plenty of other places listed. But not donuts.

I left.

On the way home I called my wife to tell her she might as well get the home-made zucchini muffins she'd made out of the freezer, because donuts were out. She replied that she's just seen on the "news" that Dunkin' used-to-be-Donuts was closing 800 stores nation-wide.

No surprise there.

It's highly unlikely I'll ever go back again.

You're not missing much.

The problem is that very few (maybe none) of their stores makes their own donuts any more.

Instead, they are pre-baked at centralized factories (sometimes several states over), and then distributed out to stores where they are half-ass rewarmed as needed.

So you're paying for old, dry, stale, warmed-over donuts with a fancy label.


Find a local mom-and-pop donut shop, who actually make their own. They'll be better, fresher, and maybe even cheaper.

I'm not going to lie. I could eat a whole box of those blue berry doughnut holes. Munchkins or whatever they are called.

Any Krispy Kreme stores in your area?

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
So you're paying for old, dry, stale, warmed-over donuts with a fancy label.

Seems about right.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Find a local mom-and-pop donut shop, who actually make their own. They'll be better, fresher, and maybe even cheaper.

Don't have any, anymore Used to be a great one just down the street. Terrific donuts. Made top-notch paczki, too. Owned/run by a little old Philippinian woman. Always appeared to do good business. She sold it to somebody else. Product quality declined markedly. (But still better than DD, of late.) Closed a couple years later. Building was demolished a couple years ago.

I don't understand why stores, when they run into downturns, seem to think the best plan is to destroy their signature product. Watched Johnny Carino's (Italian restaurant chain) do the same thing. They're now gone entirely around here. My wife and I used to love them.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Any Krispy Kreme stores in your area?

The closest KK is something like an hour or more away and the only one in the entire Metro area. Gas station around the corner used to get fresh KK donuts in each morning, but stopped doing that years ago.

No Chick-fil-A nearby, either.

I find all this mystifying. We live in a middle-class/blue-collar-ish, nominally conservative-ish area. It's not like a super-health-conscious lefties or dirt-poor/crime-ridden urban area.

There is a Krispy Kreme about 4 blocks from our business. So I would view it as "waddling" distance from us.
If I wasn't a Type 1 diabetic, I'd probably waddle over there on a regular basis.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

I spent nearly 15 minutes driving to the closest Dunkin' used-to-be-Donuts.

Lobby closed. Got in the drive-through line, only to get to the menu and find the store that used to be Dunkin' Donuts doesn't list, you know, donuts on the menu.

A guy we have named "Donut Dude" was my partner in the airplane -- he bought a 50% interest a few years ago, then later he bought me out completely.

Donut Dude owns a bunch, maybe 50 or 60, Dunkin' Donut locations. He uses the airplane to shuttle between the locations, there are a few central clusters in several areas.

The preceding is background. Now my question(s): No donuts on the menu? As in none? What sort of things were available? I would be curious, would like to ask Donut Dude about this, he would probably know exactly what's going on.

When I do a favor for him, he sends me a Dunkin' Donuts gift card, but I have not used these recently, have not been to a DD location to see for myself, I have a multi-donut credit balance.

There is a donut shop privately owned less than a mile from my office. Fresh pastries daily. I grew up an ethnic Chicago neiborhood so I became spoiled. There were four or five within a mile of my home in addition to several delicatessans.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
The preceding is background. Now my question(s): No donuts on the menu? As in none? What sort of things were available? I would be curious, would like to ask Donut Dude about this, he would probably know exactly what's going on.

Oh, they had donuts, they just weren't on the menu. "You have no donuts on your menu." "Yeah, we don't list our donuts on the menu..." (What did I just say?) "... but I can still help you."

Right. How would that work, exactly? He recites what they have, I memorize it, then order? Am I expected to have an eidetic memory? Write them down? All this with other cars waiting in line behind me.

I don't think so.

I understand their stock changes as the day wears on, but still... What one usually does is eyeball what they have and make their selections.

Yet they had every kind of sandwich and drink listed. The menu was 90% non-donut products, and one small mention that, yes, they also sold donuts.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ensigmatic,

In a pinch, Hardees cinnamon N raisin biscuits aint bad


I am lucky to have a few local donut shops and KK around here. I don't partake much but the wife needs a Bismark now and then.


The DD's popped up everywhere here in the last couple of years, mediocre at best.

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
In a pinch, Hardees cinnamon N raisin biscuits aint bad


I am lucky to have a few local donut shops and KK around here. I don't partake much but the wife needs a Bismark now and then.


The DD's popped up everywhere here in the last couple of years, mediocre at best.

Love me some hardees, there are none near me, we sometimes will drive a long way just to get some biscuits and gravy and a bacon egg and cheese from them. Best biscuits around. There is a Bojangles opening soon near me, a step or two lower on their biscuit game, but still pretty good, and their Bo berry biscuits are awesome.

We don't have any Hardee's around, anymore, either. *sigh*

We have Tim Hortons' nearby. IIRC, they have donuts and suchlike. I'll have to wander in and check them out.

I was never a big KK fan but my parents were.

I remember way way way back in the day when we would take family vacations to Myrtle Beach and even night my parents would drag me and my sister over to KK to get fresh hot donuts and coffee.

I always made them take a detour to DD.

To be honest they (DD) have sucked for years but I love their coffee.

Even in Central Ohio I think most of the independent donuts shops are gone.

Does anyone remember Jolly Pirate Donuts
(I just did a google search and there a couple left around Columbus)

The construction company me and my father worked for, used to get Buckeye Donuts every Friday. There used to be on Ohio State Campus and one on Front street just outside of downtown. Their cinnamon rolls and apple fritters were awesome.

Now in Richmond, VA there are quite a few fancy donuts shops: Duck, Dixie, sugar shack.

The Governors staff would pick some up at a place out near the Richmond Airport but I cannot remember the name. They were awesome but I got fat on the Governors detail.

We skip the new DoubleDees and roll over to the WaWa, go if you have one,

The pastries blow DD away, the Apple Fritters are exceptional, and none of it's over priced. Several blends of Coffee from Truck Driver Basic to Madagascar.

Hot Breakfast and Sammies are fresh made.

And no SJW T-shirts or issues...

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
We have Tim Hortons' nearby. IIRC, they have donuts and suchlike. I'll have to wander in and check them out.

Yep. Tim Hortons is basically "Canadian Dunkin Donuts". But their donuts are higher quality, and their coffee is better too.

(Or at least, that was true back in the day when I lived in Maine about 15 years ago.)

DDs have been straight trash for years. Ever since they decided to be a coffee competitor to Starb****s, they decided to farm out their donut production, to their detriment. You couldn't give them to me for free. Might as well be doorstops.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Any Krispy Kreme stores in your area?

Yep, one of the advantages of living in North Carolina.

We had a store that was close to the house but it closed a few years ago during the 'no carb' craze.

At some point, they instituted a fun run - participants gouge on donuts after the race. I don't know if that's unique to Raleigh NC or something that is done at other locations.

BTW, you want to buy them from the store when they are hot. The boxed versions you can get at convenience or grocery stores do not taste as good. (You want them in the flat box as shown in the picture Para posted.)

Store Locator

Growing up in the suburbs of Boston I was raised on Dunks and when I hit the ground in Boston it is always first priority (for the coffee).

I dont eat donuts that often but have been frustrated by the wild inconsistency in the quality of the donuts they sell now. Thankfully there are some small, family owner donut places near me if I need to scratch that itch.


My biggest issue with Dunks is still the customers...specifically the parents that go in with their "cute to them" little snot machines and find it charming to let the little brats pick 12 donuts while having to ask the clerk for a running tally every other selection as counting to 12 is serious business!

I will be that guy. Who cares that they didn’t list donuts on their drive through menu? Seriously. A dozen posts in you explain that they had donuts in fact but you were annoyed because they aren’t on the menu. This is what caused you to drive off without donuts and send the wife a no donuts call?

Oh brother.