Drive-through customers visit Dunkin’ Donuts’ concept store in Corona on opening day. (Photo by James Carbone for the Southern California News Group.)

Malia Walters, 7, left, and her brother Gabriel, 10, of Corona, order at Dunkin’ Donuts in Corona. (Photo by James Carbone for the Southern California News Group.)

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Bryan W. Isaac pours a Nitro cold brew in Corona’s Dunkin’ Donuts. (Photo by James Carbone for the Southern California News Group.)

Dunkin’ Donuts employees box fresh donuts during the grand opening of Dunkin’ Donuts the first West Coast “next generation concept store.” (Photo by James Carbone for the Southern California News Group.)

Dunkin’ Donuts beer-like tap for cold coffee beverages are ready for guests in Corona. (Photo by James Carbone for the Southern California News Group.)



Alexis Mills, 18, of Corona, right, serves customers during the grand opening of Dunkin’ Donuts in Corona. (Photo by James Carbone for the Southern California News Group.)

Grab and go shelves are a new feature at Dunkin’ Donuts in Corona. (Photo by James Carbone for the Southern California News Group.)

Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee Parag Patel has a moment with his daughter Aashna, 5, during the grand opening of his Corona store. (Photo by James Carbone for the Southern California News Group.)

The new Dunkin’ Donuts the first West Coast “next generation concept store” is now open at the corner of Ontario and Fullerton avenues in Corona. (Photo by James Carbone for the Southern California News Group.)

If you want to try Dunkin’ Donuts’ Nitro Coffee, the chain’s “next generation concept store” in Corona is the only place in Southern California to get it.

That’s what Dunkin’ Brands Group chief operating officer Scott Murphy said Thursday, March 22, at the store’s opening, surrounded by customers checking out the location’s new features.

Despite the threat of a major rainstorm, Murphy said more than 200 people were waiting for doors open at 4 a.m.

“It’s got a new decor, a new look — very bright to keep people energized,” said franchisee Parag Patel. “This is where the brand is going.”

This is Dunkin’ Donuts’ second concept store, its first on the West Coast, and a third coup for Patel. In 2016, he opened the chain’s 12,000th location, in the city of Riverside, and last summer he was honored as the company’s developer of the year.

The first concept store opened in January in Quincy, Massachusetts, near corporate headquarters in suburban Boston. Murphy said the company plans to open 50 throughout the United States this year.

Innovations are still being tweaked, but the Corona location has most of them.

Cold beverage tap system: Eight taps for cold brews resemble those for beers in sports bars and improve the customer experience, Murphy said.

“If you watch our crew members, they love doing this. Now you get to face forward to the customer while you’re doing it. It’s very fast. It’s very consistent. And we’re actually advertising products through the tap labels that people didn’t even know we have.”

Those products include Nitro, a cold brew coffee infused with nitrogen that was tested at a handful of locations last year but now is only poured in Quincy and Corona, Murphy said. It costs $3.85 a cup.

Ordering: Next to the taps, there’s a mobile order pickup station with an electronic board that shows status of on-the-go orders. “People can place their order in the car or at home, walk right in, pick up their order, and they’re on their way,” said Patel.

Customers can pick also up on-the-go orders in the drive-through, he said. But the Corona store does not have an express lane for mobile orders, unlike the Quincy store with its two-lane drive-through.

Corona will be adding in-store kiosks for customers to place their own orders.

Display: Corona’s pastry case is built into the counter instead of behind that counter as at other stores.

There is also a shelf for grab-and-go purchases such as travel mugs and ground coffee in the center of the room.

“We’re just experimenting. It’s just a little bit more modern representation of the brand.”

Signage: Like a store in Pasadena and a handful of other locations, the Corona location has simplified signage with double D’s over the door instead of the words Dunkin’ Donuts.

“We’re telling guests that we’re a beverage destination and we’re a sandwich destination,” said Patel. “We’re more than just doughnuts.”

The company has not made a final decision about “dropping the Donuts part,” Murphy said.

New uniforms: Designs are by Life is Good, a Boston clothing company that calls itself dedicated to spreading the power of optimism.

“It’s all centered around this idea of positive energy,” Murphy said. “It’s around, ‘Start me up,’ ‘Be positive,’Choose optimism’… I know that may sound a little goofy, but if you look around here, every crew member is happy. They’re shirts you would wear on the weekends. They’re not traditional polyester uniforms, if you know what I mean.”

Murphy added that he is passionate about team-building and that although uniforms may be a small part of the makeover to customers, but they’re a big deal to employees.

“It’s that little stuff that makes the difference. What I’m trying to do is make Dunkin’ the employer of choice.”

Dunkin’ Donuts

Where: 924 E. Ontario Ave., Corona

Hours: 4 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 5 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday; 6 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday

Information: www.dunkindonuts.com