2 Of The Most Famous Donut Chains That Originated In Massachusetts

It has to be the cold winters that make New Englanders love their coffee and donuts so much, making the area fertile ground for donut businesses. Dunkin' Donuts (now just Dunkin') famously got its start in Massachusetts, before becoming an international donut empire, and another chain that's a New England favorite, Honey Dew Donuts, also began in the Bay State.

Dunkin' is in a league of its own with more than 13,000 locations in nearly 40 countries, but it began in 1948 as a coffee and donuts shop in Quincy, Massachusetts. Founder Bill Rosenberg opened the shop under the name Open Kettle. He changed it two years later to Dunkin' Donuts, supposedly suggested by an architect working for him based on an image of dunking donuts in coffee. The first franchise was established in 1955. Dunkin' went public in the late '60s and was sold a couple of times before being acquired in 2020 by Inspire Brands, which also owns Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic, and Jimmy John's.

Dunkin' is claimed with pride in New England, where residents, including celebrity endorsers like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, affectionately call it Dunkies or Dunks. Its home state of Massachusetts has the second-most franchises, behind only New York. Dunkin' sells some 90 types of donuts, including classics like glazed, powdered sugar, jelly, chocolate frosted, and old-fashioned, as well as limited edition and holiday donuts, Munchkin donut holes, and coffee and espresso drinks. Other offerings include bagels, muffins, and breakfast sandwiches.

Honey Dew Donuts may not be on the level of Dunkin', whose donuts Ina Garten sold in her first food business out of her dorm room, but it proudly touts itself as New England's largest locally owned donut and coffee shop chain. It has about 120 locations in just three states — Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island — and unlike Dunkin', Honey Dew remains privately owned.

The first Honey Dew Donuts opened in Mansfield, Massachusetts, in 1973. Founder and still president Richard Bowen had been drawn to the donut business since going with his father to his donut shop job as a child. After a stint working for a small coffee and donut chain, Bowen used his savings to open the original Honey Dew. The first franchise opened just a few years later when a customer told him he'd like to open a Honey Dew shop. 

Today, Honey Dew sells around 30 different donut flavors, like the glazed Honey Dew, Boston cream, apple cider, chocolate frosted, and blueberry cake. It also sells donut holes called Dew Drops. There's also coffee and espresso drinks, muffins, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and bagels, among other items.