A distribution and purchasing cooperative of Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees said it has signed a lease for a distribution center in Phoenix, which will be the cooperative’s first warehouse located west of the Mississippi River.
Following its acquisition in 2006 by a group of private equity firms that included Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP, the parent of Dunkin’ Donuts embarked on ambitious expansion plans. While Dunkin’ cafes are seemingly ubiquitous in Greater Boston, they can be thin on the ground in other parts of the country, particularly out West.
The Phoenix distribution center, which is expected to open in October, should help support the chain’s western expansion. The new distribution center will deliver essentially all food, paper, and equipment supplies to existing Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the Southwest while facilitating the opening of additional stores.
The franchisee cooperative, which has its headquarters in Bellingham, is formally known as the National DCP LLC.
In January, the cooperative and Dunkin’ Brands Inc., the Canton-based parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and the ice cream chain Baskin-Robbins, announced that they had signed a long-term, performance-based agreement for the cooperative to be the exclusive supply chain provider for all Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the continental United States.The Phoenix center will become the seventh warehouse in the cooperative’s network.
There are currently almost 7,000 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the United States, and the company has said it has plans to more than double its current number of restaurants in the US over the next 20 years. In 2011, Dunkin’ Donuts opened 243 net new restaurants in the US and it plans to open 260 to 280 net domestic locations in 2012.
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