Dunkin' Donuts to Peddle its Sweets on Ponce

OLD FOURTH WARD — Get ready for a food fight.

Dunkin' Brands Group Inc., the parent company to Dunkin' Donuts, plans to open a 2,100-square-foot restaurant at the southwest corner of Ponce de Leon Avenue and Boulevard.

The Canton, Mass.-based sweets and coffee shop, will construct a new building that will replace A+ Financial Services, according to a report in Tomorrow's News Today.

The planned store puts it in a head-to-head combat for Ponce motorists with a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts outlet just a few blocks west on Ponce.

The move is part of the company's strategy to beef up its presence in metro Atlanta, TNT reported.

Dunkin', which has been in expansion mode globally, has about 50 stores in metro Atlanta.

It reported 2012 profit of $108.18 million, or 93 cents per share.

Though rival Starbucks Corp. is larger, having reported 2012 profit of $1.43 billion, or $1.86 per share, Dunkin's quarterly earnings growth year-over-year has soared 196.20 percent compared with Starbucks' 13.10 percent rise.

The Ponce and Boulevard store is to include Dunkin's sister company, Baskin-Robbins, TNT reported.