Dunkin' Donuts coming to Lafayette

The drive will get shorter for Greater Lafayette residents who want a Dunkin' Donuts "fix."

The company on Wednesday announced that it selected a Chicago-based franchise group to build eight restaurants in Lafayette and Indianapolis.

The project is part of a 46-store expansion across Indiana, senior director of U.S. franchise development Steve Rafferty said.

How many stores will be built in Lafayette and when the first one will open have not yet been determined.

"It comes down to where they can find the right property, the right demographics that create the right traffic pattern to make a Dunkin' Donuts location successful," he said. "We're at the beginning of the development process."

The interior design will be based on the company's Fresh Brew decor that includes comfortable seating and plug ins for laptops and smartphones, he said.

The restaurants will open between 2016 and 2019. Three of the stores will be built in smaller communities outside Lafayette and Indianapolis.

A different franchise group was selected to develop 38 restaurants in Indianapolis and Ft. Wayne.

Dunkin' Donuts currently has about 30 stores in Indiana. The locations closest to Lafayette are in Indianapolis and Remington.

The Massachusetts-based company offers financial incentives to existing and new franchisees as part of its national strategy to develop the brand outside of the New England core market, Rafferty said.

In Indiana, Dunkin' Donuts is recruiting franchisees to develop restaurants in Terre Haute and Evansville.

"Ideally we're looking for candidates that have some restaurant operation experience," Rafferty said.

"Sometimes we find operations and real estate expertise in one person or sometimes franchise companies bring together a team to expand the brand."

For franchise information go to www.dunkinfranchising.com.