by Once deprived of
Dunkin’s
orange- and magenta-tinted embrace, Stow is welcoming the beloved New England brand’s return with style.
In the product placement to end all product placements, the Massachusetts town will rename itself “Dunkin’” for a day July 24 to celebrate the opening of a new location on Great Road — and the official end of Stow’s Dunkin’ drought.
The town’s two former Dunkin’ branches closed
within 30 days of each other
in 2022, rankling local coffee lovers and sparking online hilarity (see: WBZ reporter Matt Shearer’s
viral videos
on the saga).
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Stow, Mass., lost its two Dunkin’s, becoming a ‘Dunkin’ desert’
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Stow, of all places, is having a moment
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Cyclist plans epic ride to nearly 100 Dunkin’ locations across Boston on Friday
“As soon as we heard that the two stores in Stow consecutively … closed, we said, ‘We need to fix that,’” Dunkin’ franchisee Megan Pesce
told the town’s Select Board
last week.
She said she and Mark Pesce are excited to keep the historic feel of the 108 Great Road site, formerly home to the long-closed Beef ’N Ale restaurant.
Grace Kirkman, who works with Dunkin’s field marketing team, said temporarily renaming the town is a “fun and different” way to celebrate the opening and poke fun at Stow’s “Dunkin’ desert” reputation.
“You will become the first-ever ‘Dunkin’, Massachusetts,’ which I think for every Massachusetts resident, that’s the dream,” Kirkman told the Select Board, also proposing Dunkin’s mascot, Cuppy, be handed a ceremonial key to the town.
The grand opening will also feature a ribbon cutting, 100 days of free coffee for the first 100 Dunkin’ Rewards members in line, a live unveiling of a “Dunkin’ desert” gallery wall, and the presentation of a $5,000 check to the Stow Food Pantry, per a town
press release
. The July 24 celebration will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The reaction from Stow Select Board members was overwhelmingly positive.
“My only concern is that we don’t do that for every business,” Select Board member Hector Constantzos noted. “But then again, we haven’t been called a ‘desert’ for every business.”
Select Board member Dan Petersen drew laughs as he recalled the ribbing he took when Shearer’s initial “Dunkin’ desert” story went viral.
“I have friends who are from the Massachusetts area who have since relocated to California, and all the way from there, they let us know they were praying for us,” Petersen said. “So I think those prayers have been answered.”
Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between. She has been covering the Karen Read murder case.
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