Look out Starbucks, here comes Dunkin’ Donuts
The orange, beige and red signature colors of the city’s largest chain store are coming to south Riverdale.
Sachin Shah will open a new Dunkin’ Donuts along West 235 Street across from a Starbucks, according to Jane Mermel, a manager of the public relations firms RF Binder, which represents Dunkin’ Donuts. She said the 1,250-square-foot store will not include a Baskin-Robbins and is scheduled to open later this month.
Mr. Shah is the proprietor of a Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins on West 259th Street in north Riverdale in the Skyview shopping center. According to employees, he is on vacation and not available for comment.
The Dunkin’ Donuts Mr. Shah owns in north Riverdale is kosher and welcomes a religious clientele. However, it is not certain whether the new store will be kosher. The number of new jobs is also not known.
Dunkin’ Donuts is the city’s largest chain store, with 515 shops in the five boroughs easily beating out Starbucks’ 283 locations, according to the fifth annual ranking of national retailers in the city by the Center for an Urban Future.
Dunkin’ Donuts topped the list of national retailers with the largest number of shops in the city for the sixth consecutive year. The study found that the sandwich shop Subway was the second biggest chain in the city last year, with 467 locations.
Expanding chain
The coffee and donuts chain has opened 39 new shops in the past year and is the first national retailer ever to boast more than 500 locations in the Big Apple, according to the study.
“It is actually surprising to hear about a neighborhood in New York that held out for so long without a Dunkin’ Donuts given how ubiquitous, especially in the outer boroughs” said Center for Urban Development Executive Director Jonathan Bowles.
The sign is up and construction is currently ongoing at the site of the new Dunkin’ Donuts location in Riverdale. The store is combining two properties, including a former kosher meat market at 700 W. 235th Street at the junction of Johnson Avenue.
