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Early birds line up for Dunkin' Donuts' free-coffee promotion

Store manager Mary Grace, with scissors, Mayor Barbara Volk and Interfaith Assistance Ministry executive director Elizabeth Willson Moss cheer the ribbon cutting for the new Dunkin' Donuts on Spartanburg Highway.

By Lightning Reports, Published: August 11, 2023

Hendersonville’s newest Dunkin’ Donuts shop attracted a crowd of 150 people before sunup Friday hoping to get a year’s worth of free coffee in the store’s grand opening promotion. The first 50 received the coupon books for the free cups of joe.

The grand opening ceremony at 8 a.m. featured a ribbon cutting, remarks by Mayor Barbara Volk and a thank you from Elizabeth Willson Moss, executive director of Interfaith Assistance Ministry. The food pantry and crisis intervention agency received a $3,000 donation from the franchise as a good will agency on opening day.

The shop is operated by 22-year-old manager Mary Grace, who was working at Walmart before she made the move to coffee and donuts.

“It’s a great company,” she said. “They decided to give somebody like me, who’s very, very young, an opportunity to run this.”

Already, cars were lined up at the drive-thru and customers were trickling in. Grace said the product sells itself. Why?

“We have fantastic coffee,” she said. “We have all varieties. We have hot, cold, cold brew, espresso. We have an amazing variety of donuts as well and the food is great too.” In addition to donuts and coffee and other beverages, the shop has breakfast sandwiches on a bagel, croissant or English muffin, “Wakeup Wraps,” hashbrowns and “Snackin’ Bacon.”

Sarah Shute, a trainer for the 14 Dunkin’ shops in Western North Carolina, described the company as family friendly.

“Any of our workers that are in school get a $100 gift card and their families,” she said. “Any families that have kids that are in school get $100 gift cards. I think thus far we’ve given out 23 gift cards, and we do that at every one of our stores.”

Franchisee Scott Shealy was eager to open a southside Dunkin’ Donuts when the company acquired old Enmark gas station space . How good a market is Hendersonville?

“Upward Road is our No. 1 store,” Shute said. “That little store.”