The only thing I liked about going to work at 3 a.m. for my stupid summer job slinging packages at a warehouse in Kansas City was stopping at Dunkin’ Donuts for a large coffee, a French cruller and a blueberry cake doughnut. Maybe a glazed apple fritter, too – I was in high school, after all.
I’m not the only one who missed DD’s coffee and doughnuts when they exited St. Louis 10 years ago. So did Michael Geller, the man behind bringing the Dunkin’ Donuts franchise back to town starting tomorrow. According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Geller plans to launch a dozen new stores in the area, the first one opening Thursday at 1210 S. Kirkwood Road. Later this year, another store should open in Rock Hill.
Geller seems the right man for the job. The Washington University grad recently moved back to St. Louis from New York, but more importantly, he has the doughnut biz in his blood: His mother and aunt ran a Dunkin’ Donuts in New Jersey for more than 20 years.
I know I’ll be there for the opening, although maybe for just one doughnut (the high-school metabolism graduated years ago). But I’ll have to wait a bit: This Dunkin’ Donuts doesn’t open till 5 a.m.
– Michael Renner
This article appears in Mar 1-31, 2010.