Cars lined through the parking lot and wrapped around the corner waiting to order at the drive-thru Monday morning at the opening of Bloomington’s first Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins location.
The store, located at 300 S. College Mall Rd., remained busy on its opening day, with some customers showing up as early as 5 a.m. However, the wait times remained fairly short. By 10 a.m. there were roughly 30 people ordering inside and 40 cars in line for the drive-thru outside, with some patrons waiting less than five minutes.
Himanshu Das, the location’s manager, said the store did well on its opening day.
“We have a rough estimate of 3,700 orders for the first day,” Das said.
Customers have the choice of going into the building to order or placing orders for pickup. Dunkin’ is also partnered with all food delivery services.
The inside of the store is spacious and well-lit, with ample seating and room for social distancing. Pops of Dunkin’s signature orange and pink colors decorate the walls. The store is currently allowing indoor dining.
Multiple display cases show off donuts as well as ice cream, and patrons can order a variety of drinks. The store includes two counters, allowing those who who have ordered for pickup to quickly drop in and pick up their orders without having to wait in a separate line.
Customers inside shared their excitement.
Customer Lindsey Bromm described the new Dunkin’ location opening as a life-changing event.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment my entire life,” Bromm said. “I’ll be coming every morning.”
Trinity Brown, another patron at Dunkin’ and an IU junior, shared Bromm's enthusiasm.
“I’m excited,” Brown said. “I think it’s a lot better than Starbucks and saves me a little bit of money.”
IU students will receive a 10% discount at the new Dunkin’ location, said Abbey Bobzin, an account executive for Dunkin’ Donuts’ advertising agency Maclyn.
The new location originally offered a 10% discount to IU students and faculty for the month of December only, but has since extended the discount. Students will now receive the discount for as long as the location is open, said the location’s Instagram account.
“10% off for all IU students… FOREVER!” The location said in an Instagram post.
