The sunshine, the ocean, the beaches, the stars–even the Starbucks–but not since the late 90s has a single Dunkin’ Donuts graced the lucky lands of Southern California. All that changes today as the first Southern California Dunkin’ Donuts opens in Santa Monica. Odd people with perverse priorities were camped outside the place for days beforehand, waiting to get their hands on a cup of coffee and an “old fashioned” or a glazed or something with sprinkles. (Watch out Golden State, that chocolate on top melts fast in the heat!)
There are more than 11,000 Dunkin’ Donuts outlets in the world. In April the Boston-based company said it would like to have 1,000 stores in California. Iced coffee is expected to be a big seller. Pictures of Britney Spears leaving a California Dunkin’ Donuts in short-shorts and giant sunglasses are rumored to be part of Dunkin Donuts’ stealth PR effort to win over the state–expect to see those photos on Instagram sometime in October.
–Correction: an earlier version of this article implied that there were never any Dunkin’ Donuts stores in California. In fact there were 15 stores which were closed in the late 1990s. We thank Pat Leff for setting us straight on this. Thanks, Pat.
Buzzfeed’s Jon Passatino is posting pics on Twitter.
Southern California’s first Dunkin’ Donuts opens tomorrow morning in Santa Monica and people are camping out pic.twitter.com/HimTyZNdCu
— Jon Passantino (@passantino) September 2, 2014
