Dunkin’ Donuts Rolls Into Wisconsin

Brats and beer are making room for doughnuts and coffee in Wisconsin. Dunkin’ Donuts has signed a multi-unit development agreement with the Milwaukee Coffee Brewing Co. to open 36 new restaurants in the greater Milwaukee area, which currently has only two DD stores. The new units will be operated by six existing Northeast Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees, who currently run more than 370 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in metro and upstate New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut.

The 9,000-store chain commands a huge market presence in its Northeast homebase, but through a flexible-format program rolled out last year, it is growing its presence in the Midwest and South.

In the first half of 2010, the Canton, Mass., opened 338 net new stores worldwide; 75 of them were in the U.S. In addition, Dunkin’ has signed 72 new domestic development commitments. The 60-year-old chain is expanding through franchising with no minimum unit requirements. Its strategy includes free-standing units, end caps, in-line sites, travel plazas, universities, gas stations and convenience stores.