{"id":42329,"date":"2026-05-12T18:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T18:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/42329\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T18:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T18:48:09","slug":"dunkin-returning-to-canada-after-nearly-10-years-with-plans-for-hundreds-of-locations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/42329\/","title":{"rendered":"Dunkin\u2019 returning to Canada after nearly 10 years, with plans for hundreds of locations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A Dunkin’ Donuts store in Burbank, Calif. The coffee and donut chain is returning to Canada through a partnership with Foodtastic.Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The slogan is \u201cAmerica runs on Dunkin\u2019,\u201d but soon, a Montreal restaurant franchisor is hoping Canada will fuel up on its coffee, too.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Foodtastic Inc. announced that it has signed a master franchise agreement with Dunkin\u2019 owner Inspire Brands, giving it the exclusive right to run the restaurants in Canada.<\/p>\n

It is not the first time the American coffee chain has attempted to grow in the Canadian market. Dunkin\u2019 Donuts had hundreds of locations north of the border before it shut down in 2018. Its franchisees in Quebec had won a lawsuit two years earlier, accusing the company of failing to promote the brand aggressively enough to compete with Tim Hortons. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a totally different company that\u2019s going to be coming in\u201d this time around, said Foodtastic founder and chief executive officer Peter Mammas. <\/p>\n

Canadian restaurant operator Foodtastic says it will bring popular U.S. caf\u00e9 chain Dunkin’ north of the border again. Foodtastic CEO Peter Mammas shares his plans for the brand\u2019s Canadian expansion.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Founded in 1950, Dunkin\u2019 has grown to the largest coffee and donuts chain in the U.S., and currently has more than 14,200 locations around the world in almost 40 markets. (In an effort to modernize the brand, it dropped \u201cDonuts\u201d from the name in 2018.) <\/p>\n

Remembering the chain\u2019s unsuccessful foray into Canada in the past, Mr. Mammas was surprised when his daughter picked up a Dunkin\u2019 habit while attending medical school in Boston.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe goes to me, \u2018Dad, Dunkin\u2019 is so much better. It\u2019s got everything. It\u2019s got the protein drinks. It\u2019s got the refreshers. It\u2019s got the breakfast sandwiches,\u2019\u201d he recalled. \u201cShe forced me to go try it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since leaving Canada, Dunkin\u2019 has been expanding under new ownership: Atlanta-based Inspire Brands, which is backed by private equity firm Roark Capital, bought the Dunkin\u2019 and Baskin-Robbins chains in a US$8.8-billion deal in 2020. The company has been expanding its menu and has tapped celebrities such as Sabrina Carpenter, Ben Affleck and Ice Spice to star in its ads.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve done a great job revitalizing the brand,\u201d Mr. Mammas said.<\/p>\n

Inspire also owns other restaurant brands such as Arby\u2019s, Sonic Drive-in and Buffalo Wild Wings. Last week, the holding company said it had \u200bconfidentially filed for an initial public offering in the U.S. Bloomberg reported that Inspire will be seeking a valuation of roughly US$20-billion, if it goes public. <\/p>\n

Foodtastic previously partnered with Inspire to expand the Jimmy John\u2019s chain in Canada and has opened more than a dozen of the sandwich restaurants so far.<\/p>\n

The company plans to open its first Canadian Dunkin\u2019 location in late 2026 or early 2027, and will focus at first on the Toronto and Montreal areas, Mr. Mammas said. Within a year, his goal is to begin opening one new Dunkin\u2019 each week, with hundreds of stores planned in the coming years.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Foodtastic CEO Peter Mammas makes a coffee at a Second Cup in Pointe-Claire, Que., last year. His company has more than 1,200 restaurants in Canada spanning 27 brands.Christopher Katsarov\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The company will be going up against some entrenched competitors, with major fast-food brands such as Tim Hortons and McDonald\u2019s MCD-N<\/a> competing hard for customers.<\/p>\n

For example, Tim Hortons, which has nearly 4,000 restaurants in Canada, has been growing sales and has announced plans to open dozens of new restaurants across the country this year alone. <\/p>\n

Burger King enters next phase of turnaround plan with president Tom Curtis leading the way<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always room for new brands to enter the market, in any space, even one as crowded as coffee,\u201d said Vince Sgabellone, a food service industry analyst with research firm Circana. \u201cAnd if you want to launch a new coffee brand, Canada is the place to do it, because we do love our coffee \u2013 more than just about any country in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canadians consume roughly 3-billion cups of coffee purchased at restaurants each year, though volumes have been roughly flat in the last couple of years, according to Circana.<\/p>\n

The morning meal is the largest time of day for restaurant sales, representing 34 per cent of fast-food visits and roughly $11-billion in annual sales for quick-service restaurants, Circana data show.<\/p>\n

As a franchisor, Foodtastic has more than 1,200 restaurants in Canada spanning 27 brands, including Second Cup, Quesada, Freshii, Pita Pit, Rotisseries Benny and others. As it has done with other chains, it will begin by opening corporate-owned Dunkin\u2019 locations \u2013 to work out the \u201chiccups,\u201d Mr. Mammas said \u2013 before expanding through franchisee deals.<\/p>\n

But the expansion is also taking place in a muted consumer market. for fast-food companies. Last week, McDonald\u2019s CEO Chris Kempczinski said that higher gas prices spurred by the U.S. and Israel\u2019s war with Iran \u201cdisproportionately impact low-income consumers,\u201d who are pulling back on spending \u2013 putting pressure on quick-service restaurants. Other chains such as Shake Shack SHAK-N<\/a>, Papa John\u2019s PZZA-Q<\/a> and Domino\u2019s DPZ-N<\/a> have also cited repercussions from the war putting a damper on consumer demand.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely, we\u2019re in a down period right now,\u201d Mr. Mammas said, citing the proliferation of value-menu<\/a> offers and other discounts as chains compete for customers. But he added that slower periods also present opportunities for securing better real estate to open new locations. \u201cI\u2019m sure when things get better, we\u2019ll be well positioned to take advantage of that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: A Dunkin’ Donuts store in Burbank, Calif. The coffee and donut chain is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[164,224,238,214,212,239,17,211,230,231,227,213,210,235,171,234,143,222,249,215,216,229,225,226,219,240,220,244,245,247,242,246,94,243,217,142,233,113,232,241,223,236,237,228,221,218,248],"class_list":{"0":"post-42329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-canada-news","16":"tag-canada-sports","17":"tag-canada-sports-news","18":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","19":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","20":"tag-canadian-news","21":"tag-economy","22":"tag-education","23":"tag-environment","24":"tag-federal-government","25":"tag-foreign-news","26":"tag-globe-and-mail","27":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","29":"tag-government","30":"tag-life-news","31":"tag-lifestyle","32":"tag-local-news","33":"tag-manitoba","34":"tag-national-news","35":"tag-new-brunswick","36":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","37":"tag-northwest-territories","38":"tag-nova-scotia","39":"tag-nunavut","40":"tag-ontario","41":"tag-pei","42":"tag-photos","43":"tag-political-news","44":"tag-political-opinion","45":"tag-politics","46":"tag-politics-news","47":"tag-quebec","48":"tag-sports-news","49":"tag-technology","50":"tag-travel","51":"tag-trudeau","52":"tag-us-news","53":"tag-world-news","54":"tag-yukon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}