Yes, you read that right. The establishment will spike their drinks beginning in early September and the alcoholic drinks will include versions of their iced coffee and iced tea.
The reason? Money.
According to NIQ reporting, “sales of RTDs amassed more than $10 billion in US sales over the past 12 months, a 7% increase from the prior year.”
“Like other well known non-alcoholic brands, Dunkin’ wants to capitalize on a built-in audience and established brand equity as it pushes its way into alcohol,” Duane Stanford, editor of Beverage Digest, told CNN. “This trend is just getting started.”
The Health Department shut down a Manhattan Dunkin’ Donuts following an inspection it conducted after a patron’s video showing rats crawling all over baked goods in the display case went viral.
The 15-second video published April 1 by YouTube user Pjayone shows the live rodents scurrying around donuts and bagels and through open food bins at the shop on 37th Street and Eighth Avenue in the Garment District. Another video shows a clip of a rat seemingly stuck in a store window.
While some may have thought it to be an April Fools’ prank, the Health Department apparently found evidence it was not. A sign bearing the message “CLOSED by order of the Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene” hung in the store’s window Thursday morning.
In a statement to Gothamist, the Health Department said, “Dunkin’ Donuts was closed by the Health Department yesterday because of a public health hazard that could not be corrected at the time of the inspection. In this case, the restaurant had a severe pest infestation that will require professional pest control services. They were also cited for other critical violations, including inadequate hand washing facilities and food not being protected from contamination.”
Before the store was shuttered, Dunkin’ Donuts told Gothamist in a statement that food safety is a top priority, as is maintaining a clean and safe restaurant.
“We have stringent food safety and quality standards, and we take great pride in the food and beverages we serve to our guests every day,” the company said.
A Florida woman who filmed herself berating Dunkin Donuts employees for not giving her free food has been identified as Taylor Chapman, a 27-year-old Broward County resident and former low-budget commercial spokeswoman, according to The Smoking Gun.
Chapman went off on workers at a Fort Lauderdale store last week after claiming an employee the night before didn’t honor the company’s policy of comping her meal after forgetting her receipt.
In the 8-minute video — which Chapman appears to have posted online — the iPhone-toting crackpot unleashes an avalanche of profanities and threats, at one point calling the employee who wronged her a “little f—-g sand n—-r.”
“Because I’m about to nuke your whole f—- planet from Mars,” Chapman seethes after spotting the worker who served her the night before.
“You think you all are tough big fat Arabs bombing the Trade Center? I’ll show you tough.”
“This s— is about to go live b—-h. Right on Facebook,” she says.
The Dunkin’ Donuts employees remained courteous during the ordeal and assured Chapman she could get whatever she wanted for no charge.
“I want my bacon crispy and I want my people to be nice,” she mutters at one point to another customer.
The video went viral on Sunday and Monday, and Chapman was quickly outed by The Smoking Gun and other sites as the Coolata-loving creep.
Thousands of commenters on YouTube and other sites slammed Champan for the abuse.
For large retail and restaurant chains, the big unknown in the year ahead is how much more they’ll pay for health coverage. Employers with 50 or more workers who put in 30 hours a week will be required to provide health care coverage or pay a fine, under the Affordable Care Act, also called the ACA or Obamacare.
That lower full-time threshold is one of the big issues business groups are trying to negotiate with the Obama administration as the rules are being finalized. Large chains like Dunkin’ Donuts parent firm Dunkin’ Brands argue that full-time status should remain based on the traditional 40-hour work week.
“We believe that the definition of a full-time employee, and the number of hours a full-time employee works each week, should be consistent with existing Federal and State laws, and we have communicated this to the Administration,” explained a Dunkin’ Brands spokesperson in a written statement.
At upscale grocer Whole Foods, workers who put in 30 hours a week already get full health benefits. Still, John Mackey, co-founder and co-CEO of the grocery chain, said the company may still be forced to reconsider its full-time staffing levels, because the proposed rules include more expensive benefit requirements.
“Say we’re paying $3,200 a year for insurance for somebody, and the new regulations cost us $5,000 to insure somebody. If they work fewer hours, we just saved $5,000 per person” because there is no mandate to provide coverage for part-time workers, he explained.
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