Dunkin dropped “donut” from its brand name years ago, and now — at least in Nebraska, New Mexico and some other states — it doesn't even carry donuts in its stores.
Nebraska-based Dunkin' stores in Omaha, Lincoln and Grand Island had no donuts in their cases Thursday and Friday.
Businesses are putting up signs on doors and drive-thru kiosks informing customers that pastries are unavailable “due to a manufacturing error.”
Some stores offered “munchkins,” or donut holes, on Friday.
Omaha resident Tyler Ryker stopped at a Dunkin' in west Omaha for coffee and chocolate cake donuts early Friday morning after finishing a night shift as a phlebotomist.
“What? There are no donuts!” she exclaimed when told there was nothing in the place. “That's tragic!”
The trip was not a total waste, she said, as she was more interested in coffee.
Still, she was a little disappointed that she couldn't get the donuts.
“I hope we get it soon,” she said.
Stores across Albuquerque, New Mexico and surrounding suburbs have confirmed that a donut drought is occurring.
Some employees blamed it on a supply chain issue, while others simply said delivery trucks arrived without the chain's most famous cargo.
Employees said they expect the stock to be replenished by next week.
A manager at a Dunkin' store in west Omaha said Friday that he could not provide any further information about the cause of the shortage, citing orders from Dunkin' corporate headquarters.
The manager, who did not want to be named, said the shortage was a nationwide problem.
But a check of stores in other areas, including St. Joseph, Missouri, and Boston, revealed that Dunkin' has no shortage of sweet treats at the cult favorite.
Dunkin' is one of the world's largest coffee and donut brands with more than 13,200 restaurants.
The company was founded in Massachusetts in 1950 and was acquired in 2020 for $11.3 billion by Atlanta-based private equity firm Inspire Brands, which also owns Arby's and Buffalo Wild Wings.
Inspire Brands spokesman Jack D'Amato said there was an issue with single-supplier donuts that affected stores in Nebraska and some other states, but did not name other states. I didn't.
He said about 4% of Dunkin' U.S. stores were affected.
Dunkin has more than 9,500 stores nationwide.
D'Amato said the company is still investigating what the problem is and exactly how many stores were affected. But he said the company has already begun restocking some affected stores.
The company, formerly known as Dunkin' Donuts, announced in 2018 that it would drop “donut” from its name as part of a rebranding effort to increase its focus on coffee and other beverages, which account for the majority of its sales.
Phone and email messages to Bryce Bears, who owns several Dunkin' franchises in Nebraska, were not immediately returned.
Bears told the Omaha World-Herald that some Dunkin' stores received products from substandard suppliers and will no longer provide them to customers.
The company's owner told the newspaper that its supply partner has resolved the issue and the Nebraska store should soon be serving donuts again.
