People give dollars for donuts

Lines of people crowded Forbes Avenue in the wee hours of the morning Tuesday, but not for… Lines of people crowded Forbes Avenue in the wee hours of the morning Tuesday, but not for concert tickets or a new Harry Potter book.

Instead, they were waiting for donuts and coffee.

The storefront was flanked by towers of balloons about seven feet high, as a crowd of people steadily filed in one door and left by another.

Those waiting in line had visits from Roc the Panther and a pair of Dunkin’ Donuts employees costumed as a donut and a latte.

The Dunkin’ Donuts store on Forbes Avenue opened this morning at 5 a.m., and over the course of the day, the two lines of people waiting to be served frequently stretched out the front door.

It wasn’t until after 1 p.m. that the lines weren’t spilling out onto the sidewalk. The store, which refurbished the former spot of Boomerang’s Bar, will remain open until midnight every day.

Robyn Frederick, the VP of marketing for Heartland Restaurant Group which owns the Dunkin’ Donuts franchise, said that the line had been out the door for most of the day.

And those people bought plenty of doughy goodness. Frederick said that they sold more than 2,000 donuts before noon, to about 1,100 customers.

Once finals week at Pitt hits, Frederick said that the shop on Fores Avenue might emulate another location in a “fuel for finals” program; offering deals on lattes and coffee, and possibly extending their hours.

As to competing with the other coffee shops in Oakland–there are four others within several blocks– Frederick shrugged.

“We’re the only ones who sell donuts,” she said.