St. Louis Dunkin' Donuts Celebrates 60 Years

Dunkin' Donuts, founded in 1950, is celebrating 60 years of coffee, donuts, and baked goods, and the brand is inviting customers in Kirkwood, Missouri, to join the party with the March 11 grand opening of its new restaurant at 1210 South Kirkwood Road.

The doors to the St. Louis–area restaurant will open to the public at 5 a.m., and the first 100 guests will receive $2 Dunkin' Donuts gift cards. To commemorate the grand opening and Dunkin' Donuts' 60th birthday, the restaurant is hosting a birthday celebration featuring a 9:30 a.m. ribbon cutting with Mayor McDonnell and the official kick-off of the "Dunkin' Donuts Beverages for BackStoppers" drive at the new restaurant.

As part of the opening celebration, franchisee Michael Geller will donate 50 percent of all first-week beverage sales, up to $2,500, to the BackStoppers, which provides support and financial assistance to families of fallen police officers and firefighters. In addition, from 7 a.m. through 9 a.m., Al Hofer from WARH-FM, "The Arch," will broadcast live from the store.

Geller, who earned post-graduate degrees from Washington University in St. Louis, said he's long wanted to return to the St. Louis area and bring the Dunkin' Donuts brand with him. "My mother and aunt have operated Dunkin' Donuts in New Jersey for more than 20 years. I grew up with the brand, had a passion for the business, always loved the products, and have always felt at home here in St. Louis," he says.