Dunkin’ opens store in North Oakland

Dunkin’ opened its second Oakland location on Centre Avenue Monday morning. The franchise is celebrating the occasion by offering customers $.99 any size iced or hot coffee all day.

Located at 4560 Centre Ave. in North Oakland, the new location features a cold beverage tap system, customer seating, glass donut cases and high volume coffee brewers.

This is the second store Heartland Restaurant Group — a franchisee of Dunkin’ headquartered in Pittsburgh — opened in western Pa. in 2021, and the company’s 64th total store. Anthony Braun, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Heartland Restaurant Group, said in a press release that he’s “excited” for the new Oakland location.

“Oakland has already proven to be a great location for Dunkin’,” Braun said. “With universities, health care and thriving businesses, we want to keep everyone in this area running on Dunkin’.”

Eli Brock, a junior electrical engineering major, was at the new store Monday morning. Brock, who lives in Camelot Apartments on North Dithridge Street, said this location is much more convenient than the Dunkin’ on Forbes Avenue, and he plans to take advantage of the convenience.

“The other one’s a long way away and the line’s like out the door a lot of times so I’m excited about it,” Brock said. “I’m going to go here a lot.”

Brock also complimented the interior of the store, specifically the “North Oakland runs on Dunkin’” sign. While Brock said he isn’t a coffee drinker and didn’t use today’s discount, his friend Warren Lester unintentionally did.

“I didn’t know it was discounted,” Lester, a junior materials science major, said. “I was going to come here anyway.”

Braun added that the company’s expansion is impressive given the struggling economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirty jobs are created from the store opening.

“Although the pandemic has been tough for the economy globally, Dunkin’ has been growing in the region throughout 2020 and we plan to continue that growth through 2021,” Braun said.