EXCITEMENT BREWING AS DUNKIN’ DONUTS
ANNOUNCES PLANS TO ENTER CENTRAL & SOUTHERN KENTUCKY MARKET

World’s largest coffee and baked goods chain plans to open 17 area restaurants;
Offer fast, fresh and affordable foods and beverages to keep locals fueled any time of day

CANTON, Mass. (March 12, 2008) Dunkin’ Donuts, the world’s largest coffee and baked goods chain, is bringing its renowned coffee, beverages and bakery items to Central Kentucky. Today the company announced plans to enter the region with approximately 17 new restaurants over the next several years, with the first store scheduled to open this spring. The new Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants will include a variety of designs and venues, including free-standing stores, sites within shopping centers, and convenience stores and other retail environments.

The new restaurants will be operated by Fast Break Doughnuts, LLC of Lexington, which recently signed a deal with Dunkin’ Donuts.  The Fast Break Doughnuts ownership group is led by former University of Kentucky basketball players Jamal Mashburn and Walter McCarty, University of Louisville Coach Rick Pitino and Lexington businessman Rick Avare.

Fast Break’s first Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant, slated for a May opening, will be located in the new Main and Rose development at 333 Main Street in downtown Lexington.  Construction began on the new residential and retail development last year; the new Dunkin’ Donuts is expected to be one of the first retail outlets to open in the building.

“We are extremely excited to bring the Dunkin’ Donuts high quality coffee and baked goods to the busy people of Central and Southern Kentucky,” said Tom Wylie, chief financial officer, Fastbreak Doughnuts.  “We look forward to building strong ties to the community through excellent service, quality and convenience.”

The Dunkin’ Donuts central Kentucky launch, which will likely bring approximately 350 new jobs to the market, is part of an aggressive national growth strategy. The company is expanding in existing markets while entering new markets throughout the country.

According to Dunkin’ Donuts brand president Will Kussell, Dunkin’ Donuts will satisfy a growing demand in Central Kentucky for high quality coffee and baked goods that are available all day. “Dunkin’ Donuts is proud to energize Americans and keep the honest, hard-working, value-driven people of this country running every day — whether it’s in a boardroom, a schoolroom or a construction site,” Kussell said. “We look forward to being a vibrant part of the community and playing an important role in the daily lives of the people who live and work here.”

Page 2/Dunkin’ Donuts to enter Lexington

According to Lynette McKee, vice president of franchising at Dunkin’ Donuts, the company’s expansion into Lexington creates tremendous opportunities for new franchisees. “People are passionate about our products, our convenience and especially the quality we provide. Our strong brand, combined with an outstanding management team that has created one of the strongest franchisor-franchisee relationships in the industry, has fueled profits and successful growth in all of our markets,” she said. “As we continue our rapid expansion, this is a particularly exciting time for any restaurant operator or real estate developer to join our brand and help develop the Dunkin’ Donuts network.”

The updated store design is complemented by a new menu that will include dozens of varieties of donuts, baked goods and world-class beverages. Some of the exciting menu items created by Dunkin’ Donuts’ culinary team for customers to enjoy throughout the day include:

•    Made-to-order oven-toasted flatbread sandwiches available in three flavors: three cheese; turkey, bacon & cheddar and ham & Swiss
•    Personal-sized, portable pizzas topped with cheese, veggies, or pepperoni & sausage
•    An array of breakfast sandwiches, oven-toasted to ensure fluffier eggs, crisper bacon, and toasted breads
•    Bite-sized Hash Browns
•    Warm baked goods including a variety of freshly made muffins, croissants, and gourmet cookies

Dunkin’ Donuts has been serving freshly ground and freshly brewed coffee and bakery items for more than 58 years. The company sells more donuts and bagels than any other quick service restaurant in America, and is the number one retailer of hot and iced coffee, selling more than one billion cups of coffee a year in its restaurants throughout the country. Dunkin’ Donuts has set the standard for offering a superior grade of coffee, and the company sells more than one billion cups of hot and iced coffee every year. In 2007, AOL.com readers cited Dunkin’ Donuts as the “Best Overall” coffee. For the second year in a row, Dunkin’ Donuts ranked number one in customer loyalty in the coffee category by the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index.

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About Dunkin’ Donuts
Founded in 1950, today Dunkin’ Donuts is the number one retailer of hot regular coffee-by-the-cup in America, selling 2.7 million cups a day, nearly one billion cups a year.  Dunkin’ Donuts is also the largest coffee and baked goods chain in the world and sells more hot regular coffee, iced coffee, donuts, and bagels than any other quick service restaurant in America. Dunkin’ Donuts has more than 7,900 restaurants in 31 countries worldwide. In 2007, Dunkin’ Donuts’ global systemwide sales were $5.3 billion. Based in Canton, Massachusetts, Dunkin’ Donuts is a subsidiary of Dunkin’ Brands, Inc. For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.

Contact:    Carrie Reckert
(847) 303-9001
reckertcomm@yahoo.com

Tags: doughnuts, dunkin donuts, fastbreak, kentucky, restaurants

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