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Comment by caudicus | Hacker News Reader

As a Boston native, I can attest that people go to Dunkin' Donuts for the coffee, not the donuts. That is the main attraction of the place - donuts, bagels, etc - are all secondary. A chain that doesn't have the coffee is bound to fail.

Here's another article talking about this - http://www.lasnark.com/attn-los-angeles-entrepreneurs-please...

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In regards to that article and many others I've seen: I know there's HUGE demand for Dunkin' Donuts here. I would _love_ to open one, and it seems I would meet most/all of their franchisee criteria - not to mention I'm shopping for a business to either buy or open, franchise or not right now anyway. The only problem is that they don't give out any franchising opportunities in CA. I'm sure I'm not the only person who would kill to open one here. I could think of half a dozen locations in LA where I could buy out an existing business or lease a space.

So PLEASE blame the company, no one else. I wish I could just get that through all those thick skulls (especially comment #8 on that link) that think you just need to throw money at a franchise to open a new store so it's just a lack of people interested in doing so. It's NEVER that easy to run/start a business, and if the company says no, they mean no.

Have you asked Dunkin Donuts why they won't sell any franchises in CA?

I personally haven't because I know others (like some of the brokers and folks I talk to often) who've inquired about it with no success. I don't think it's a lack of money or interest that's stopping the franchise from opening locations in CA.

I haven't researched the franchise itself much for the above-mentioned obvious reasons so I can't realllly say much more, but I'd have to guess that it's either taken by someone else or the franchise has some future plans for the state if they're not willing to open stores now.

I read an article in the late 90s in Esquire magazine about a businessman who tried for years to open a Krispy Kreme franchise in a new state. He loved Krispy Kreme and knew it would be a hit. They refused. He visited headquarters, wrote them letters, became friends with the secretaries. He was persistent to the point of obsessive. He didn't take no for an answer. They finally relented after (iirc) 9 years. It's a good article - worth finding on microfiche.

I wish I was that dedicated ;) But I don't have years to spend (I have other plans for my life at this point too!), this is a family venture, and there are lots of other franchises and independent businesses out on the market.

Maybe someone else might be that obsessive about opening it, but I'm not the person. I'm just pointing out though that it's not possible that people with enough money and experience haven't considered trying to open a Dunkin' Donuts in California lately.

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