In March 2023, the Zaan branch of Dunkin’ Donuts opened in the kiosk on the Gedempte Gracht near the Rozenhof. The company was declared bankrupt on Tuesday, October 8, according to a report in De Telegraaf. The shops would remain open ‘for a while’ according to the curator. The company filed for bankruptcy itself.
Dunkin’ started in the US in 1950 and has nearly 13,000 locations in 42 countries. Between 1997 and 2000, Dunkin’ had a few branches in the Netherlands, but that was not a success. The company has been back in the Netherlands since 2017. Since 2023, Van der Valk International has had a majority interest in all 76 branches in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The bankruptcy also affects the municipality. The four kiosks were built in 2012 and – just like the shops on Stadhuisplein – are operated by Zaanstad itself.
Between 2018 and the end of 2022, key maker / shoe repairer Dr. Shoe in the kiosk. Before that there was an R&R-Flowers flower shop.
By Piet Bakker. Sources: Telegraaf.nl, Wikipedia, previous news on De Orkaan. photos: Annemarie van Nieuwamerongen (2023).