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There are close to 10,000 Dunkin’ Donuts locations across the United States, but the massive chain can trace its roots back to a store that opened up in Massachusetts more than 75 years ago. People in that state tend to have an almost cultlike connection to the brand, but some residents in one town are rebelling over a factory that’s blanketed the area with the scent of its signature items.
In 1950, Bill Rosenberg changed the name of the eatery he’d opened in Quincy, Massachusetts a couple of years prior to Dunkin’ Donuts. What began as a single shop specializing in breakfast fare turned into a burgeoning empire that boasted more than 100 locations less than 15 years later, and it is one of the biggest fast food chains on the planet today.
The company, which rebranded to simply “Dunkin'” in 2017, markets itself as a brand that “America runs on.” However, it can stake its largest claim in the Northeast, and the state where it was founded (and is still headquartered) boasts more than 1,000 locations despite its relatively tiny size.
It is also home to a newly opened factory that can pump out a million donuts a day, but people who live near the facility are souring on Dunkin due to the sweet smell they say they’re being subjected to.
A Dunkin’ factory in Haverhill, Massachusetts has draw the ire of local residents who are not happy with the smell it gives off
Dunkin’ is owned by Inspired Brands (which oversees a portfolio that includes other chains like Arby’s, Sonic, and Buffalo Wild Wings), and it relies on a franchise model where licensees are tasked with overseeing the bulk of day-to-day operations.
There are plenty of franchisees who have managed to build a miniature empire of their own, which includes Cafua Management Company, a group that oversees more than 200 Dunkin’ locations—including eight that are located in the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts.
That town is also the site of a 93,500-square-foot factory that Cafua constructed in an effort to streamline the supply to its stores before it officially got up and running earlier this year, but there appear to be some lingering issues.
According to CBS Boston, some people who live near the facility have begun to complain about the lingering smell of donuts in the area, with Haverhill resident Sean Wilson saying, “My house smells like donuts all the time for the last two months. It’s distracting and it’s heavy.”
A city councilman said he was also contacted by someone who complained about a “carnival smell” they equated to the scent of fried dough, and it certainly appears it is correlated to the factory that cooks up hundreds of thousands of donuts on a daily basis.
A representative for the company argued the plant meets all regulatory standards while appearing at a city council meeting, but health inspectors were instructed to pay it a visit and report their findings before the issue is revisited next month.