Its first California franchisees include Frontier Group, led by local businessmen Dan Almquist and Robert Jonas, who signed the company's first California development agreement to develop 18 restaurants in Central Orange County and the South Bay Coastal region of Los Angeles County; Gary Haar, an existing Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins franchisee with six locations in New Jersey, and his partner, Steve Silverstein, who will develop 10 restaurants throughout the West side, Santa Monica, Hollywood and Malibu in Los Angeles County; Danny and Coby Sonenshine, founders of Prell Restaurant Group, who plan to develop 16 restaurants in central Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley; and existing franchisees Jason Duffy and Bert Hayenga, who will develop a location in the iconic Barstow Station building in Barstow.

"We have had an overwhelming response by prospective franchisees interested in opening Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in Southern California, and we are delighted to see both existing and new franchisee groups, each of whom has tremendous business experience, bring Dunkin' Donuts to the Golden State,” says Paul Twohig, president, Dunkin' Donuts US and Canada. “Our continued focus on franchisee profitability and restaurant economics has made our long-awaited expansion into California possible, and we continue to believe that Dunkin' Donuts has tremendous domestic growth opportunities both east and west of the Mississippi.”

“As we develop Southern California, we continue to look for qualified, multi-unit franchise candidates with food service, operations and real estate experience who want to become part of a nationally established restaurant concept with more than 60 years of franchising experience and 95 percent brand recognition,” says Grant Benson, CFE, VP of franchising and business development, Dunkin' Brands.

Dunkin' Donuts says it is offering special development incentives for franchisees, including reduced royalty fees in the early years and a $10,000 local store marketing contribution by the company for qualifying franchisees.

The chain will also offer franchisees flexible design concepts, including free-standing stores, end caps, in-line sites, kiosks and gas stations, as well as other retail environments. Last month the company unveiled a new restaurant design, the brand's first in nearly seven years. The new look includes four distinct restaurant design options for franchisees, each featuring variations in layout, color schemes, graphics, textures, furniture and lighting.

The concepts, called Original Blend, Cappuccino Blend, Dark Roast and Jazz Brew, are designed to enhance the current restaurant appearance, environment and layout to serve people all day long. Dunkin' Donuts allows franchisees to select individual elements from any of the four options, creating a restaurant design that reflects their personal tastes and preferences, and best serves their specific restaurant size and location.

As previously reported by GlobeSt.com, the new Millennium Hollywood development will have a number of restaurants in its buildings.