I know America runs on Dunkin', but...
...how much Dunkin' could our little downtown area possibly need?
I work in State House Square. A week ago, this sight greeted me during my morning commute (all 5 minutes of it).
That's right, folks, yet another DD is going in downtown. Because apparently the four Dunkin' Donuts within a one-block radius of my building just isn't enough to satiate the appetites of the good people who commute into our fair city.
I'm not exaggerating. Here's the DD to the south of my building, on Central Row. This picture is taken from one of the entrances to State House Square.
Not very far away, is it?
And here's the DD to the west of my building. Not taken from the entrance, but trust me--it's less than a block away, on Asylum just across Main.
I didn't have time during my brief work break to take pictures, but there's also a DD at Constitution Plaza (one block to the east) and on Main Street towards Albany (one block to the north).
Then there's the DD on Trumbull across from the Civic Center--excuse me, the XL Center. And on Main Street just past City Hall. And in Union Station. And the shiny new DD just a few blocks down Main. And if you go just a bit farther out, there's a DD at the intersection of Broad and Capitol.
No, I don't have a problem with Dunkin' Donuts. For about three years (also known as my time as a law student), I was pretty much addicted to those XL Great Ones. Black. Yum. Given a choice between chain coffee stores, I'll still pick Dunkin' over Starbucks pretty much any day. But I'd rather give my caffeine fix money to Jojo's. Or La Paloma. Or J. Piel's, which was the independent little coffee, muffin, and cookie place in my building.
Plus, having a DD in my building means people will drive into Hartford, park in the building, take the elevators up to their offices, eat in the cafeteria, get their afternoon coffees at the DD in the building, then take the elevators down to the lot again and drive home. All without ever leaving the building and experiencing even a few minutes of Hartford. So today, for instance, people would have missed the beautiful day that gave me this picture.
Sometimes, having to walk across a street for coffee isn't a bad thing.
I work in State House Square. A week ago, this sight greeted me during my morning commute (all 5 minutes of it).
That's right, folks, yet another DD is going in downtown. Because apparently the four Dunkin' Donuts within a one-block radius of my building just isn't enough to satiate the appetites of the good people who commute into our fair city.
I'm not exaggerating. Here's the DD to the south of my building, on Central Row. This picture is taken from one of the entrances to State House Square.
Not very far away, is it?
And here's the DD to the west of my building. Not taken from the entrance, but trust me--it's less than a block away, on Asylum just across Main.
I didn't have time during my brief work break to take pictures, but there's also a DD at Constitution Plaza (one block to the east) and on Main Street towards Albany (one block to the north).
Then there's the DD on Trumbull across from the Civic Center--excuse me, the XL Center. And on Main Street just past City Hall. And in Union Station. And the shiny new DD just a few blocks down Main. And if you go just a bit farther out, there's a DD at the intersection of Broad and Capitol.
No, I don't have a problem with Dunkin' Donuts. For about three years (also known as my time as a law student), I was pretty much addicted to those XL Great Ones. Black. Yum. Given a choice between chain coffee stores, I'll still pick Dunkin' over Starbucks pretty much any day. But I'd rather give my caffeine fix money to Jojo's. Or La Paloma. Or J. Piel's, which was the independent little coffee, muffin, and cookie place in my building.
Plus, having a DD in my building means people will drive into Hartford, park in the building, take the elevators up to their offices, eat in the cafeteria, get their afternoon coffees at the DD in the building, then take the elevators down to the lot again and drive home. All without ever leaving the building and experiencing even a few minutes of Hartford. So today, for instance, people would have missed the beautiful day that gave me this picture.
Sometimes, having to walk across a street for coffee isn't a bad thing.
I'm with you on this one... I used to stop at D'Piels on my way into work on Main Street every morning and was disappointed when they closed. I'm even more disappointed to learn it's yet another DD's that will go in its place.
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Ugh, another DD. I'm not a fan, I prefer a Starbucks (I think DD coffee tastes like donuts, plus whenever I come out of there, even after 5 min., my hair and clothes smell like donuts. But I digress...). When the new greek place was under construction on Temple, there was a sign that said "DD coming soon" and I was mortified to think it was another Dunkin (thank goodness it wasn't). I don't understand how one city can support so many DDs but only 1 SB. And none of the above are open on Sunday (and SB is no longer open on Saturday, what is up with that?). Thank goodness for Jojo's.
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I don't think it'd be wrong for there to be an ordinance restricting how many of a particular franchise can be withing a given distance. Places like DD do nothing but contribute to health problems. Local independents--like JoJos and La Paloma--have actual healthy food options. You can get sandwiches there that don't involve egg and bacon. At the least, they could restrict how close these fast food cretins are to public schools. Capital Prep Magnet School is right next to a Dunkin Donuts. Yeah, we totally care about the health of our city's children.
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You can never have too many DDs. Ok, perhaps you can. But they're also adding Moe's to the food court. Still miss the other place; around the corner isn't the same.
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My favorite DD location: Inside the JCC across the building from exercise areas just past all the signs announcing nutritional seminars.
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