As eateries across the country shutter, Dunkin' launches a new shop in East Huntingdon

In an era marked by closed signs at eateries across the country, a Forest Hills-based restaurant group is betting against the odds in the midst of a pandemic in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

The Heartland Restaurant Group is opening its 59th Dunkin’ franchise today in the Countryside Plaza in East Huntingdon, on the outskirts of Mt. Pleasant, just off the intersection of Routes 119 and 819.

The shop’s grand opening, at 5 a.m. Monday, comes just 10 days after Dunkin’, a publicly traded corporation with 12,700 outlets worldwide, announced it will shutter 800 underperforming outlets this year.

Heartland COO and CFO Anthony Braun said the privately held franchise group that operates Dunkin’ locations throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania and Southeastern Ohio opened an outlet in Wilkins last month and expects to open four or five new locations, including one in Connellsville, in the near future.

Braun attributed Heartland’s success to its employees.

“We realize others in our business are struggling. But we are very, very fortunate. Our managers and team have gone to a whole new level of caring for our guests and one another during this time. We are proud to report that Dunkin’ in Pittsburgh is thriving. Heartland Restaurant Group is opening new stores in the market in 2020 and is going to provide more than 1,500 jobs to the region.”

The timing couldn’t have been better for Candi Matson. She is among the 30 team members who will staff the new outlet.

The 61-year-old Mt. Pleasant woman, who was furloughed two months ago from her job managing a convenience store, will be leading the bake shop at 4 a.m. every morning baking donuts, muffins and other assorted goodies for the early morning crowd.

“I love this 10 times more. And I think everyone around here is going to love it. I have 219 Facebook friends who said they’d be here on Monday,” she said while going through the final paces of a two week training stint Friday.

As Matson and fellow baker Cindy Lou Honick, 38, of Mt. Pleasant discussed the finer points of applying icing and sprinkles to donuts, their fellow trainees were boxing Friday’s bounty of French crullers, Bavarian kremes, jelly-filled, glazed and iced donuts and apple fritters for donation to the local hospital.

While the Dunkin’ shops, formerly known as Dunkin’ Donuts, may have gotten their start 70 years ago largely as pastry shops that served coffee, Braun said they’ve evolved in terms of taste and technology.

A Dunkin’ app that allows tech-savvy customers to order online has grown in popularity during the pandemic. And an array of beverage offerings includes “signature lattes,” espresso and cold brewed coffee drinks, and teas coupled with the outlet’s signature coffee offer something for caffeine fiends of every stripe.

Sales figures reflect their popularity.

“In 2007, 26 percent of our sales were beverages,” Braun said. “Now it’s 53%.”

The Heartland Restaurant Group, which launched its first shop in Pittsburgh in 2007, has a history of successfully adapting to the communities where it sets up shop. In 2009, the franchisees adjusted their menu to adhere to Jewish dietary laws and opened a kosher Dunkin’ outlet in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood.