The Only 7 US States Without A Single Dunkin' Location
If it seems there's a Dunkin' store everywhere you look, that's at least partially true. The number of U.S. locations is approaching the 10,000-store threshold, stretching across state lines from east to west, north to south, and most populated areas in between. That's not even counting the brand's presence in 40 countries, for a total of 13,200 restaurants. That's a whole lot of coffee and donuts on the move, which makes it unfathomable that any part of America would be Dunkin'-less. But it's true.
There's actually a pocket of states in America, seven to be exact, without a single solitary Dunkin' store in sight. Most lie in what's geographically considered the Northwest region, including Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Washington state. Then there's the adjoining states of North Dakota and South Dakota — just a skip from most of the others — and Alaska, all with zero Dunkin's.
Routinely earning a spot in America's top 10 fast-food restaurants, regardless of source, Dunkin' has become one of the country's most beloved venues since opening its first Dunkin' Donuts location (then known as Open Kettle) in 1948. Those humble roots in Quincy, Massachusetts, gave little indication the chain would join the fast-food billionaire's club, with $11.9 billion in 2023 sales. Cohorts in the top 10, based on national sales revenue, include heavy hitters McDonald's, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Taco Bell, Wendy's, Burger King, Subway, Chipotle, and Domino's. So, what gives in the clump of Dunkin' wasteland states, completely void of the chain's delights? A look at one of them may shed some light.
From donuts to coffee, Washington state says no thanks to Dunkin'
The last time a Dunkin' shadow fell across the rain-soaked state of Washington was way back in 2002. Even prior to that, the chain peaked at 10 locations over its roughly 40-year stint, sporadically dotting the landscape since the early 1980s. The final two Dunkin' signs coming down was no real surprise, given the original focus on donuts and the increasing push for coffee dominance. Krispy Kreme marched into the state just a year before Dunkin' stepped out, but it only has eight stores in Washington at the time of writing. Krispy Kreme is a much smaller operation with only 357 shops in the U.S., but it has wildly devoted fans, even snagging the top spot in Tasting Table's ranking of the most popular donut chains.
Eventually, the company shifted focus from donuts to hot and iced coffees, dropping the "Donuts" from its long-term brand name. Under the new moniker, the company announced a plan of serving "great coffee fast," an approach that appears successful — but not in Washington. After all, Seattle, the state's most populated city, is home to the coffee king itself, Starbucks, which raked in $31.6 billion in 2023 sales, topping Dunkin' by almost $20 billion.
The final two franchisees in Washington state, who converted the Dunkin' stores to private donut shops, offered more explanations for why the chain didn't succeed there. They cited issues with the slow entry of Dunkin' products into their market, plus a lack of allocated advertising.