Dunkin' Plans To Reopen Most Store Dining Rooms By Summer

CANTON, MA — Dunkin' has reopened dining rooms at more than 1,000 stores in the past six weeks and plans to reopen most dining rooms by the start of summer.

To date, 2,600 Dunkin' stores have resumed in-restaurant dining while still enforcing pandemic measures, including social distancing, hygiene training, face masks, plexiglass shields, and recommended employee health checks.

The Canton-based company has 9,083 franchised stores in the U.S. and was forced to temporarily close more than 1,200 of them at the start of the pandemic. For the stores that stayed open, Dunkin'allowed franchisees to reduce hours to allow for additional cleaning.

But most stores never closed during the pandemic, continuing to offer driver through, takeout and delivery service. Before the pandemic, about 90 percent of Dunkin's business was to-go.

"As we continue to navigate through the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, we want to reinforce our ongoing commitment to the health and safety of guests, franchisees, employees, and the communities we serve," Dunkin' President Scott Murphy said in a statement. "We’re continuing our legacy of being there when people need us most and we have a thoughtful approach with our franchisees to reopen as many dining rooms as possible by summer to welcome our guests for inside dining."