During the Summer and Autumn months of 2018, officials added a Dunkin Donuts to the Ramapo campus, in the basement of the Adler Center.
This Dunkin Donuts replaces a pre-existent cafe that had been in the basement of the Center previously since the Adler Center, which is mostly used for the Nursing Education, was first constructed about five years ago.
“It was just a cafe, a school cafe,” said Victoria Incognito, a Psychology major with a Biology minor, of the old cafe, “Like a cute little coffee, like, smoothies. They just had like paninis, like, healthy choices.”
According to Incognito, the new Dunkin Donuts is an actual location location. Instead of being a simple rebranding where the brand’s products are sold in exchange for the name, the new cafe is an actual Dunkin Donuts location, manned by Dunkin Donuts employees. The electronic screens behind the employees help to complete the look and feel of a hole-in-the-wall Dunkin Donuts.
“The changing screens is pretty cool,” said Julia Incognito, a Biology major and Victoria’s younger sister, “I didn’t think they’d go that, uh, technological. The Ramapo College Runs On Dunkin’, great touch.”
“I’ve been spending every day in here,” said Daniella Cruz, an Accounting major whose sister is employed at the Dunkin, “[It’s] somewhere to chill, do my homework here, have coffee.”
DAY ONE
On the day the Dunkin Donuts opened, Nov. 28, the line reportedly reached through the seating area and up the stairwell. According to the younger Incognito, the Dunkin ran out of many of its wares, including caramel. Cruz estimated that wait times exceeded one hour. Many students, including both Incognitos and Cruz, didn’t bother stopping by the Dunkin Donuts on the first day.
“The first day there were opened, the line, like, literally continued up the staircase,” said Cruz, “Some people waited for over an hour and they were like ‘sorry, all we have left is ice’.”
As for the products themselves, they appear to be about on par with a normal Dunkin, meaning the debate over Starbucks vs. Dunkin can continue.
“Uhm, listen, it depends what I want. If I want a hot drink, like hot chocolate, yeah, I’m gonna go to Dunkin’, but, like, if I want a macchiato, Starbucks,” said the younger Incognito.
Coming soon to #homesweetpo. ????? pic.twitter.com/0rDCkylvWv
— Ramapo College (@RamapoCollegeNJ) September 10, 2018
The overall experience of this piece was very straight forward and informative. I really enjoyed seeing the picture of the “Ramapo College Runs on Dunkin” and also reading the quote from Julia. The quotes from people were great as well, especially from someone who is directly related to someone who works there, as it makes for an interesting perspective. The Starbucks vs Dunkin at the end was also a good touch!