Where are my Munchkins' at?

So last night Robert took me out on a surprised date without the girls (freedom!). We were driving to downtown Salem to go out to dinner when we were passing the familiar Dunkin' Donuts. But it was not there, seriously, it's gone! A donut shop called "DAYLIGHT DONUTS" (what kind of name is that- dumb) is there in it's place. There are still Dunkin' Donuts coffee signs hanging up in the window but the building signs have all change.

Now I'm not a big donut eater, but I've lived in Utah for the last 6 years and they don't have Dunkin' there. I was so glad to move to a state that had quality fried bread products. And now my dreams have been banished. I love the donut holes- Munchkins' and now I don't know when I'll get to eat them again.

I didn't go inside the new donut shop so I'm not sure when or why the changed happened. If you have any information I would love to hear it. Or if you know of another Dunkin' in the Salem area that I don't know about, that information would be greatly appreciated. My deepest sympathies go out to anyone else who feels like this is a great loss.

Hillary just brought to my attention the Horrible, Awful, Excruciatingly Painful Truth

Read on my sad friends.

Last West Coast Dunkin' Donuts changes name:
South Salem store remains open but is an independent
EUNICE KIMStatesman Journal March 14, 2008

Sharlin Anderson has been going to Dunkin' Donuts in South Salem for decades. Two to three times per week, the Keizer resident stops in for coffee and a doughnut. Thursday was no different, except for the moment she realized it was no longer Dunkin' Donuts. "Oh, Daylight, OK," she said, pausing as she peered outside at the store's new sign. "I'll still come here."

Anderson is among the many customers who were surprised — and some saddened — this week when they learned that the longtime coffee and doughnut shop had changed names. The 24-hour Dunkin' franchise on Commercial Street SE has become the independently owned Daylight Donuts.The move means there are no more Dunkin' Donuts shops in Oregon or the West Coast, according to Dunkin' Donuts. The South Salem store, which opened in the late 1960s, was the last one.

"Everybody goes to Dunkin' Donuts," longtime customer and former employee Suzanne Fulsos said. "It's always been there. It's just an institution. It's just sad to me." Mike Mungra, who has owned the shop for nearly a decade, said he had to make the change because his franchise agreement was expiring, and renewal would have come with the requirement to add products and remodel the store to Dunkin's new design. It would be too expensive to ship the frozen products — such as bagels, croissants and cookies — from Illinois, and redoing the store would cost about $300,000, he said. "It didn't make any business sense," Mungra said.
Mungra said his shop is going to sell the same selection of products as before, with a few possible additions, such as muffins and biscuits and gravy. The coffee will be of similar roast to what customers have been drinking for years, and the doughnuts still will be made in the store, just with local ingredients.Mungra, who has been baking Dunkin' Donuts since 1984, doesn't think people will notice the difference."I know how the doughnuts are supposed to look and taste like," he said. "I know how to do it right."

That's what is important to McKenzie Wilcox, 16, who stopped in Thursday during a break from class at South Salem High School. "As long as they have the same food, I don't really care what the name is," she said.
The change has been harder for others such as Fulsos to take. The 54-year-old worked there 35 years ago and long has been a dedicated customer."It's part of Americana," she said. "It's not like your typical restaurant or doughnut shop. You lose part of that Americana when it goes. It's an emotional thing for me."

Dunkin' Donuts, founded in 1950, is based in Canton, Mass., and has more than 7,900 shops in 31 countries worldwide. Mungra said he will honor any Dunkin's or competitor's coupons at his shop. He hopes the change in store name won't cost him business. "So far, there hasn't been any effect," Mungra said. "In the long run, you never know."

I WILL FOREVER MISS THE MUNCHKINS