Dunkin' Donuts Begins Bay Area Invasion in Walnut Creek

It's happening. The first Bay Area Dunkin' Donuts is bringing it's inscrutably popular doughnuts to Walnut Creek. East Coast transplants will be pleased to learn that the chain is now making good on its promise to bring its wares to the Bay Area, with the first location slated to open by the end of the summer.

In keeping with the mediocre quality of the supremely popular coffee and doughnut chain, the first location will land in a former Taco Bell (1250 Newell Ave.) in a beige-colored strip mall near the fancy downtown shopping district. A former Panera Bread franchisee, Matt Cobo, is behind this first wave of the Dunkin' invasion, according to the SF Biz Times, and has signed a contract to open the first 12 locations in Contra Costa County.

Despite the Bay Areas proliferation of third-wave coffee shops and roasters like Blue Bottle, Four Barrel and East Coast transplant Counter Culture, Dunkin' Donuts' beloved coffee is still likely to draw crazy lines. When DD bestowed its first location upon Los Angeles, crazed fans lined up starting at 5 a.m. However this is only the first of the planned locations for the Bay Area and its outlying areas (not to mention the 1,000 planned for the entire state), so everybody remain calm: you'll get your precious iced coffee soon enough. Construction is slated to begin March 1, with a projected opening of mid-June. Stay tuned for more details.