Dunkin' Donuts Strengthens Local Bonds in Wake of Marathon Blasts

While there are coffee drinkers of various types across New England, it's no secret that a vast majority of Massachusetts residents are fans of Dunkin' Donuts.

And the feeling is mutual for the Canton-based coffee chain and during a tumultous week in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombings, the company was able to strengthen its bond with customers, residents and first-responders alike. 

Not only did Watertown's Dunkin' Donuts restaurant remain open during last week's lockdown and manhunt of Suspect #2, the local shop offered to serve first-responders and law enforcement with free coffee and food. 

Moreover, , with 2,000 restaurants in New England working to collect donations to support those affected by the Boston Marathon Bombings. 

The image of Dunkin' Donuts as a staple Boston icon served as the highlight of a recent post written by Paul McMorrow on Esquire.com's Eat Like a Man blog.  

"A whole generation of Bostonians grew up with Dunkin's as a pop culture touchstone. We grew up watching Fred the Baker, a mustachioed, blearly-eyed pitchman who got up wicked early every morning to bake fresh donuts (five kinds of jelly!). Fred the Baker shuffled across Boston television sets for the better part of two decades, mumbling that it was time to make the donuts, time to make the donuts, at Dunkin's it's always time to make the donuts. These cultural ties endure, even as the chain has coporatized, gone global, and moved its donut-baking operations to central factories churning out confections that taste like shortening-coated cardboard."

McMorrow, though, also acknowledges other coffee chains in the area, from Starbucks to Marylou's. 

"But for the rest of us, there's Dunkin's. It's less a coffee shop than a marker of local solidarity. It's an expression of shared heritage that bridges the petty ethnic, regional and class tribalism that normally dominates Boston. A large regular is a large regular, whether you're in Dorchester or Chelsea or Wellesley. The thing that unites us is mediocre coffee."