Stacey SpiehlerA new Dunkin’ Donuts will open in the old UPS store on University Avenue this year. The shop will offer donuts, other food and their famous coffee.
Less than 200 yards away, Community Donuts has been serving the Oxford area for nearly five years. The current owner-operators took over from a friend a year ago, but have been perfecting their donut recipes for over 10 years.
Chantha Tan, co-owner of Community Donuts along with her brother, first heard about Dunkin’ moving in from a customer who worked at the UPS Store.
“She heard about it and came as soon as she could to tell me. I just couldn’t believe it. Why so close? Why not on Jackson Avenue?” Tan said.
The former owner of Community Donuts, Rose Sam, agreed.
“That’s where most of those places go,” Sam said. “I don’t understand why it would be so close.”
Community Donuts makes their food — including donuts, croissants, kolaches and biscuits — fresh every morning. The two owners arrive before dawn to make sure everything goes correctly.
“I try my best to provide good service, good food,” Tan said. “I’m concerned, but I know their donuts don’t compare to ours.”
Tan smiled when she talked about her UM student customers.
“They always come here and when they leave they say how much they’ll miss us. When their parents visit, the parents tell us how much their children talk about us. It really makes me happy,” Tan said.
Stephen Attard is the owner of the future Oxford Dunkin’ and over 40 others around the country. He lives in Alpharetta, Georgia and has no ties to Mississippi. Attard hopes the store will be open in the next four months and will keep a staff of 30 people.
