Opening day a hit with Dunkin' Donut customers in Green Valley

Greg Jordan, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·2 min read

Mar. 25—BLUEFIELD — When 5 a.m. Friday arrived at the new Dunkin' Donuts off Route 460 in Green Valley, people longing for donuts, coffee and more were eagerly waiting at the door.

The new Dunkin' Donuts, which is adjacent to the recently opened Little General Store and Exxon station in Green Valley, started off busy and stayed busy throughout the day.

Saraha Weitzman, director of operations for Branded Food Service, said there was a line at the door when the new Dunkin' Donuts opened for its first day.

"Five o'clock this morning we opened. We had a line out the door. We unlocked the doors and our lobby filled up immediately," she said Friday afternoon as more customers arrived and got in line. "It's been that way all day long."

Weitzman said the public's reception has been enthusiastic.

"Great, great," she said as more orders were filled. "Things are running very smooth for being a new operation. The employees are doing absolutely fantastic. I could not ask for any more."

Before the new location opened Friday, people would have to drive to Raleigh County to reach a Dunkin' Donuts.

"We have eight Dunkin' Donuts, and my closest one is in Beckley," Weitzman said. "Then I have them in Fayetteville, Huntington, Barboursville, Cross Lanes, Oakwood."

"We have hired 75 to 80 people right now," she said about the new location. "We're probably have 35 on staff because we have bakers back there. We have people up front, but then we have back of the house where we have people baking, prepping. We have full sandwiches. All of our sandwiches are made to order. We have sausage, bacon, egg."

And there is a taco wrap, too. Finding enough people to prepare and serve all of these items was not a problem.

"Everybody wants to work at Dunkin'," Weitzman said. "We've had many, many applications because it's a fun place to work."

Being along a four-lane highway is bringing in plenty of commuters.

"We've got people coming from Princeton going to Bluefield to work and vice versa," she stated. "I think we're in a prime location."

Customers waiting in line were happy about the arrival of Dunkin' Donuts.

"I'm really excited," said Cody Koeller of Bluefield. "We had one down in Florida. I haven't been to one since I moved down here 10 years ago."

His mother, Jennifer Koeller, was deciding what to order.

"Probably a bagel," she said. "Donuts to take home. and coffee. Got to have coffee."

The new Dunkin' Donuts opens at 5 a.m. daily. It closes at 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and at 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

"However, it's possible that if we stay busy up to 9 (p.m.), we may extend those hours," Weitzman added.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com