Duck Donuts announced its second Puerto Rico franchise location is officially open for business as of April 22. Owned by Jorge Ramos, Juan Carlos Piñero, and Delmarie Ayala, owners of the popular Bayamón location that opened in 2020, the store is in Plaza Escorial, Carolina.
To celebrate the opening, the first 20 guests in line scored one dozen free donuts per month for a year.
Business partners Ramos, Piñero, and Ayala have spent their careers in Puerto Rico. They joined the Duck Donuts family with decades of experience in the engineering, construction, project management, and real estate fields. The trio met at University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, from which they all graduated in 1998.
“We are happy to open our second location in Plaza Escorial, Carolina, and continue with our growth plan of Duck Donuts brand in Puerto Rico,” says Ayala. “When we opened our first store in Plaza Rio Hondo, Bayamón, we had major setbacks due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. As we prepared to open our second store, we faced other COVID-19 related challenges such as labor shortage, construction materials and equipment price increases, amongst others. But our team continued to persevere, and we are thrilled to finally announce the opening of Plaza Escorial shop.”
The 1,800 sq. ft. retail store reflects the franchise’s iconic beach theme and family-friendly atmosphere with limited indoor seating. In addition to donuts, the Carolina location will also serve espresso beverages, coffee frappes, milkshakes, donut breakfast sandwiches, donut sundaes, select retail items, and more. Specific to Puerto Rico, this location also offers local classic flavors of guava and cream cheese.
Duck Donuts specializes in warm, delicious and made-to-order donuts. Upon entering the store, customers are welcomed with the aroma of warm, light vanilla cake donuts. Customers can create their own donut combination by choosing from a variety of coatings, toppings and drizzles, including traditional favorites such as chocolate icing with sprinkles and more adventurous creations such as maple icing with bacon. The family-friendly stores offer a viewing area where children and adults alike can watch their donuts being made.
“The momentum is building in Puerto Rico and we so grateful for our franchise partners, Jorge, Juan Carlos, and Delmarie, for their continued efforts towards growing the Duck Donuts brand,” says Betsy Hamm, Duck Donuts CEO. “We appreciate their continued hard work and perseverance through challenging times and look forward to now offering our warm, delicious and made-to-order donuts to the Carolina community.”