Cops are searching for a man who brazenly robbed a Greenpoint Dunkin' Donuts this week and escaped unscathed, with a pile of cash (though strangely, no crullers). The crime took place on Monday shortly before 9:30 p.m. at the DD on McGuinness Boulevard near the Pulaski Bridge. A man "approached the counter, pulled a black handgun, ordered the cashier to open the register, grabbed an undetermined amount of money from it and fled in a black car," according to police. No one was injured. more ›

Dunkin' Donuts already has the most franchises of any chain in the city (466 according to the Center for an Urban Future!) but that doesn't mean the regular joe's java joint is done expanding. Far from it. Yesterday the company—which just opened its 10,000th store—announced plans to double its U.S. presence in the next twenty years. more ›

Two Romanian men were busted for allegedly stealing close to $18,000—in one night—from ATMs from a JPMorgan Chase bank in Queens, all thanks to some handy tricked-out Dunkin' Donuts gift cards. more ›

Say goodbye to these bargains: Syms Corporation, including its subsidiary Filene's Basement, have filed for bankruptcy, and plan to close all 46 of their stores. Syms acquired Filene's Basement out of bankruptcy protection in the spring of 2009 for $62.4 million, but struggled to make the chain profitable again. “Blame the economy, blame the world. I wouldn’t call it expected, but I wouldn’t call it surprising,“ St. John’s University business professor Anthony Michael Sabino told the Post. more ›

Time to make the coffee...and turn a trick? We've heard of fast food workers using their job as a front to sell drugs, but this is a twist. A six-week police investigation called "extra sugar" in New Jersey has allegedly turned up a prostitute working an interesting corner: the drive-through window at a Dunkin' Donuts on Route 46. Last week Police arrested 29-year-old Melissa Redmond for offering Dunkin' customers a secret menu that puts the one at In-N-Out to shame. more ›

Former parking enforcement officer Daniel Chu, known as Big Bad Dan to residents in Queens where he terrorized funeral processions and pregnant women alike, is suing Queens city councilman Dan Halloran for $6 million, alleging that the pol insulted his Chinese heritage and damaged his reputation. Chu alleges in the complaint that Halloran said, "Go ahead and give me a f*cking ticket. I know the police commissioner and your boss…When you lose this job you can go back to your old job, delivering Chinese food." A spokesman for Halloran denies the charges and tells the Daily News, "Chu is a disgruntled and disgraced traffic agent and his conduct speaks for itself." more ›

Crazy teenagers and their out-of-control hormones, or something—we're actually not sure what caused a gang of teenagers to rampage through a Christopher Street Dunkin' Donuts last week, but riot they did—perhaps in pursuit of some Meat Munchkins? more ›

America: where two hometown companies like Dunkin' Donuts and PepsiCo can team up to bring the people Mountain Dew in caffeinated slushie form. Dunkin' Donuts announced today that they'll be introducing the new Mountain Dew Coolatta, which PepsiCo's Mikel Durham describes thus: "as if energy is meeting innovation on a higher plane." For some strange reason, they decided not to call it a "Dewlatta," but their promotional contest embodies just how EXTREME this new beverage will be. Shoot a Coolatta out of a block of ice! Via computer! Win a snowboard! We're not joking! more ›

Too easy: According to the Daily News, "An off-duty NYPD cop was busted for drunken driving Thursday after officers saw him park near a Queens Dunkin' Donuts and stagger as he stepped out of his car, cops said. Luis Moncayo, 27, was suspended from the force after he was collared for driving while intoxicated. He refused a Breathalyzer test, cops said." more ›

Last week Dunkin' Donuts introduced their new menu item: Meat Munchkins (or as they insist on calling them, Sausage Pancake Bites). Each ball packs a whopping 100 calories, so the question is: is it worth it? Seth Kallen at The Young & The Hungry tried them out, and reports back with some unsurprising news: they are gross. But what else do you expect when even the employees tell you they're no good... and also, what else do you expect when you are eating what is essentially a meat munchkin? Turns out Kallen even got an extra surprise when he bit into the greasy morsel: still-frozen sausage surrounded by a "gooey substance." more ›

We spotted these signs all over our local Dunkin' Donuts this morning—this one appropriately displayed behind a "caution" marker—presenting the chain's latest food item: Sausage Pancake Bites! Or as we prefer to call them: Meat Munchkins. You can get three for $1.59, or six for $3, and each maple-flavored morsel comes with 100 calories and nearly 7 grams of fat, at no additional cost! (For those keeping track, five of these little things have the same amount of calories as one McRib sandwich.) Your move, Tim Hortons. more ›

A former cop is speaking out against the traffic agent who issued a summons to a City Councilman after the Councilman caught him going through stop signs and red lights, sirens blazing, to go to...Dunkin' Donuts. Tim Dillon spoke to WCBS 2 about his run-in with Traffic Agent Daniel Chu while Dillon was a pallbearer at a funeral, "The family was getting ready to transfer the body from the funeral home to the churchThe traffic agent felt that they were all double-parked. There was a confrontation - he started yelling and screaming at the family members." more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Queens) is demanding a review of every ticket Officer Daniel Chu has ever written after allegedly catching him speeding through a red light and talking on his cell phone with his siren lights on in Whitestone on Monday. Halloran became suspicious, telling the Daily News, "I know the traffic agents have no emergency they have to run to." He followed Chu weaving through traffic, and eventually found him parked illegally in front of a Dunkin' Donuts. Chu came out and caught Halloran taking photos of his car, and immediately issued Halloran a $165 ticket for blocking a crosswalk. more ›

As you no doubt know, today is National Doughnut Day. We've been looking forward to this ever since we got a press release from Dunkin' Donuts five minutes ago! Apparently, it's a real thing? Observed on the first Friday in June, it was originally celebrated by the Chicago Salvation Army in 1938 to honor women who served donuts to soldiers in WWI. more ›

On Thursday, the FBI conducted raids in Massachusetts, Maine, NJ and Long Island to find possible associates of Times Square terror suspect Faisal Shahzad. It's believed that Shahzad received $4,000 during a meeting at a Dunkin' Donuts in Ronkonkoma, and some Pakistani men on Long Island were questioned. But one is particularly unhappy about being profiled and connected to Shahzad. more ›

A Fine Blog spotted a demonstration today outside the Dunkin' Donuts on East 14th Street, where protesters were handing out free vegan donuts and literature about the chain's use of factory farm eggs: "When asked if DD would change to a cage free supplier who used humane practices, one protester said 'that would be an improvement, but that would never happen for such a large chain.'" For more on what these people are so upset about, check out Dunkin' Cruelty, which has targeted Michael Foods, the egg supplier for several national restaurant chains, including Dunkin' Donuts. One investigator used a hidden camera to document abuses including "hens immobilized in the wires of their cages, unable to access food or water; and decomposing and 'mummified' corpses left in cages with live birds." Mmmm, mummies. Disturbing video below! more ›

Investigators think they've solved the mystery of the missing manhole cover that should have kept a LI teen from falling to his death on Sunday. Half the lid was removed by a worker from a neighboring pizza parlor, who tried to save Amiri Zeqiri. The rest has now been extracted from the cesspool 20 feet below, using a giant red magnet. Officials told Newsday that "the cover was in place and in some kind of shape that . . . when he stepped on it, it broke apart and he fell in." Zeqiri, who worked at Dunkin Donuts, was taking trash to the dumpster when he fell into the sewage pipe. more ›

The Long Island teen whose cesspool death made headlines yesterday spoke to his 14-year-old cousin as he tried to stay afloat. "I think I broke my arm. I feel blood running," he said, I don't wanna let go. I don't wanna let go.'" Ameri Zequiri was taking out the trash behind the Smithtown Dunkin Donuts where he worked when he stepped into an uncovered manhole and fell 20 feet. more ›

ARGHH—look at that thing, it's headed straight for our arteries! Lock up your Deal-A-Meal, because this week marks the triumphant return of the Dunkin' Donuts Waffle Breakfast Sandwich (500 calories), a button-busting invention that merges scrambled eggs, sausage and American cheese between two "maple-infused" waffles for just $2.99 (suggested retail price). Dunkin' has brought the sandwich back "by popular demand" for a limited time only, and later this month they'll celebrate St. Patrick's Day by reviving the "Lucky Dozen" donut, "a raised yeast ring with chocolate icing topped with white and yellow sprinkles and green clovers for the suggested retail price of 89 cents." Mmm, raised yeast. Now why can't area McDonald's do the same for the elusive Shamrock Shake?
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The Center for an Urban Future has followed up last year's hit "Attack of the Chains" study with a terrifying new sequel: "Return of the Chains." [pdf] They're back, their power is growing, and not even the recession can stop them from ultimately setting up shop inside your skull. Since last year's report about national retailers' footprints across our increasingly homogeneous city, over 30 percent of the chain retailers have expanded their presence. Dunkin' Donuts tops the list for the second straight year, with 429 locations city-wide, despite losing 12 of its stores to the Tim Horton’s invasion and facing blatant NYPD pilfering. According to the report, Dunkin' added 88 new stores in the five boroughs since July 2008. more ›

Defying the tired old cliche about cops loving their carrots and wheatgrass, a Brooklyn police sergeant is under investigation for loading up on donuts without paying at a Belle Harbor Dunkin' Donuts. A manager at the location called the cops on Sgt. Eric Turetsky after getting fed up with his behavior, which he claims included flirting with the adolescent workers and habitually underpaying for his donuts. The manager, who for obvious reasons asked not to be identified, tells the Post, "The girls here couldn't stand him. He was rude toward them. He was not professional at all." After reporting Turetsky, Internal Affairs watched him go into the store on seven different occasions, and on each of those trips he allegedly went behind the counter to help himself to the donuts. Turetsky, who was promoted to detective after blowing the whistle on fellow officer Justin Volpe in the infamous Abner Louima bathroom sodomy scandal, is currently assigned to the 100th Precinct in the Rockaways. If found guilty of accepting free or discount donuts, Turtetsky could lose 30 days of vacation time! more ›

The Big Apple arrival of Canadian fast food chain Tim Hortons was heralded in by free coffee and a people dressed in giant-sized Tim Hortons cup costumes. One reader recounted the scene at 7th Avenue and 50th Street, "Dunkin has hired people to stand outside the store and hand out $1 coupons in retaliation. The donut wars are on, baby! Inside, the store exceeded my expectations from rule-bending shady-operator Riese. Excellent buildout, flatscreen TVs, as good as anything in Gravenhurst or Cobourg or London. Mob scene was very polite (half the customers were Canadian, after all) and there were 20+ staff trying to handle the rush, including a crew of Tim Hortons training managers brought down from Canada." [Speaking of the donut war, check out the Today Show segment about Tim Hortons in NYC after the jump.] more ›

It's Timbit time: After last week's announcement from fast food chain Riese Restaurants that it would convert its Dunkin Donuts franchises into Tim Hortons locations, there were collective cheers from Canadians (and those familiar with the mostly north-of-the-border chain) and a little confusion from DD devotees. According to a press release, nine of its ten Manhattan locations are opening today; two others are opening in Brooklyn (full list of locations after the jump). Tim Hortons considers its new NYC presence in its cap and wants to take the Big Apple by storm; COO David Clanachan said, "New Yorkers are savvy customers, they understand good value and quality. We are focused on earning the loyalty of New Yorkers and adding them to the millions of people who make Tim Hortons their daily stop for breakfast, lunch and snack times." more ›

As dozens of New Yorkers cling to their monitors and tearfully pay homage to the "Time to Make the Donuts" guy in preparation for eleven(!) Dunkin' Donuts locations closing their doors, others are simply refusing to even bear (claw) the thought of patronizing the Canadian Tim Hortons stores that will now be runnin' in Dunkin'. One Upper West Sider told the News, "It's not American. I can't do it." As the Dunkin' in Penn Station started getting disassembled today, one Brooklyn Heights man laments, "I just wanted a cup of coffee. Now I don't know where to go." Hopefully if Tim's 100 gallons of free coffee at that spot Monday is not enough, he'll be able to track down one of the 427 Dunkins within 10 miles. Canadians seem to be enjoying their loon's eye view of our newfound Donut Wars, as a Tim's spokesman shills away, "In Canada, Tim Hortons is a religion so I don't see why it can't be the same kind of situation here." more ›