If you want to pay a pilgrimage to the temple of coffee and doughnuts, you need to head to Quincy, Massachusetts. Located just south of Boston, pull into the unassuming parking lot at 543 Southern Artery, and go inside. You'll find the first Dunkin' Donuts location, the 70-year old coffee chain that's still the first coffee and doughnut love of anyone from New England.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Back in 1948, William Rosenberg opened a coffee and donut shop called Open Kettle in Quincy. Donuts cost five cents and cups of coffee sold for ten cents. Two years later, Rosenberg renamed the restaurant "Dunkin' Donuts" after one of his executives suggested it after being inspired by dunking donuts into coffee. The rest, as they say, is sweet and caffeinated history. There are over 12,000 Dunkin' Donuts locations in 45 different countries around the world, including around 9,000 locations in the United States, but you can still visit the first Dunkin' Donuts location today.
While most of the chain's coffee shops are getting new, modern looks to go with their drive-thrus and mobile app ordering, Dunkin's first store has gone back to the future. In 2011, the original Dunkin' Donuts location got a retro makeover, with a sign like the original outside and that cozy feeling inside (but unfortunately, no original prices). At the time, the Boston Globe reported that this location would be the only Dunkin' Donuts store to go retro.
Dunkin' Donuts
The first Dunkin' Donuts location served coffee, pastries and sandwiches, but today you can get coffee, espresso drinks like lattes and mochas, hot chocolate, iced coffee and frozen, blended drinks along with your doughnuts and breakfast sandwiches. In fact, the company says you can order your coffee 25,000 different ways.
The chain ranks number 7 in the list of fast food chains in the United States (and yes, sadly, that is two spots behind Starbucks). They sell 60 cups of coffee every second (that's around 2 billion cups of coffee a year). And in some places, you can order ice cream alongside your coffee. Baskin-Robbins is part of the Dunkin' Brands family and some stores are co-located.
To get the Dunkin' Donuts experience, order some Munchkins, the donut hole treat first created by the coffee shop in 1973, along with your coffee. And to go completely retro, you should probably also mutter "time to make the donuts" at least once while you're there.
Watch: I Tried 5 Different Keto Fast Food Breakfasts to Find the Best
