Dunkin' Brands to Shutter 450 Speedway Locations

CANTON, Mass. — Dunkin' Brands will close 450 Speedway-owned and -operated locations the year.

According to the quick-service restaurant company, the closings comes under a termination agreement with Speedway LLC, which is the retail network of Marathon Petroleum Corp.

"We will be exiting 450 limited-menu Dunkin' Speedway owned and operated locations throughout 2020, closing under a termination agreement entered into with Speedway," said Kate Jaspon, Dunkin' Brands chief financial officer.

"These limited-menu locations are lower volume units, in total representing less than 0.5 percent of Dunkin' U.S. annual systemwide sales," she added. "By exiting these sites, with minimal financial impact, we're confident we'll be better positioned to serve many of these trade areas in the coming years with new Dunkin' NextGen restaurants that offer a broader menu."

Dunkin' Brands made the announcement in its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2019 earnings report.

"By exiting these sites, we're confident we'll be better positioned to serve many of these trade areas with future Dunkin' restaurants that reflect the full expression of our next-generation restaurant design," said Scott Murphy, president of Dunkin' Americas, during the company's earnings call on Feb. 6.

"Guests are continually asking us for espresso, cold beverages from the tap system, sandwiches and even access to perks and mobile ordering all of which are available in NextGen," Murphy explained.

Excluding these 450 locations, the company still expects to open between 200 to 250 net new Dunkin' U.S. units in fiscal year 2020.

Based in Canton, Dunkin’ Brands is the parent company of Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins.