In light of the recent capitulation by Dunkin' Donuts to
Michelle Malkin's rantings about Rachel Ray wearing a "terrorist scarf" in an online ad which they pulled, I find it IRONIC that the largest Dunkin' Donuts kitchen outside the US just opened yesterday in Sharjah.
Certainly with the internet, people in the Middle East know what happened.
Dunkin' Donuts opens ME's largest production facility in Sharjah (MENAFN Press) The largest Dunkin' Donuts commercial kitchen in the region was opened in Sharjah today (June 2nd) by Sheikh Mohammed Saud Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Government of Sharjah Finance Department and Proprietor of Continental Foods Est. owners of the Dunkin' Donuts Franchise in the UAE.
Addressing the large gathering present at the opening ceremony, HH Sheikh Mohammed Al Qasimi said: "Sharjah's new Dunkin Donuts kitchen and warehouse complex which occupies an area of 30,000 square feet produces the full range of donuts in 50 different varieties and currently has the capacity to produce 50 million donuts per year. The kitchen has cost AED 19 million and is the biggest facility of its kind outside the USA."
He added that twice daily deliveries are made to the outlets around the country to ensure that customers receive their donuts absolutely fresh.
David Rodgers, Dunkin' Donuts General Manager noted that Dunkin' Donuts has grown from one outlet in 1997 to 45 now covering the entire UAE. "This stupendous growth has necessitated the need for a much larger commercial kitchen facility," he said.
"We have risen to be the most popular coffee & baked goods chain in the UAE serving high quality hot and cold beverages and fresh donuts," remarked Mr. Rodgers.
Citing a recent customer survey, Mr. Rodgers stated that nearly half (47%) its clientele in the UAE comprised UAE nationals and Arab expatriates while Asians accounted for around 23% of its customer base. "Suitable for breakfast or as a snack at mid-morning or afternoon, our donuts are popular even among the Western expatriate population in the UAE as also the Filipino community," he observed.
Today, Dunkin' Donuts is the world's largest coffee and baked goods chain, serving more than three million customers per day. Dunkin' Donuts sells 52 varieties of donuts and more than a dozen coffee beverages as well as other baked goods.
"Dunkin' Donuts outlets are conveniently situated in all the major Shopping Malls. Outlining the popularity of the food chain worldwide," Mr. Rodgers added. "We plan to expand extensively throughout the UAE to ensure that our stores are conveniently located and within reach of everyone in the country," he stressed.
The UAE is already experiencing a retail boom that is estimated to see a 209 per cent growth in retail space to 4.25 million M� by the end of the decade, say industry statistics. Thus the potential for retail outlets and food chain franchises including Dunkin' Donuts is enormous in the coming years.
Founded in 1950, today Dunkin' Donuts is the No. 1 retailer of hot and iced regular coffee-by-the-cup. The company sells 1.5 billion cups of coffee a year. Dunkin' Donuts is also the largest coffee and baked goods chain in the world. Dunkin' Donuts has more than 7,900 restaurants in 30 countries worldwide. In 2007, Dunkin' Donuts' global system-wide sales were AED 19.45 billion ($5.3 billion). Based in Canton, Massachusetts, Dunkin' Donuts is a subsidiary of Dunkin' Brands, Inc. (
SOURCE)
UPDATE: I just found
THIS post, complete with pictures. Yes it is true everyone, Meghan McCain, none other than John McCain's daughter, likes to wear the kaffiyeh, NOT a scarf which resembles a kaffiyeh which is CERTAINLY a no no to Malkin, but the REAL THING! If you link to the post be prepared for some more trash talk about the kaffiyeh.
Just in case you think Meghan is wearing it on the sly away from Mom and Dad in rebellion, here she is hugging matching pillows with her mom Cindy, in FULL kaffiyeh around her neck.
Where ARE you Michelle? Come out come out wherever you are!
Oh darn, she's probably still whining because
McCain didn't invite her to a conference call.
Maybe you can borrow one of those pillows, get a good night's sleep, and wake up on the LEFT side of the bed!
Why not just stay IN the bed and leave us all alone!
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**Please circulate widely**
June 2, 2008
Since the ANSWER Coalition announced a boycott of Dunkin Donuts three days ago for yielding to anti-Arab racism, over 8000 letters have been sent to the company expressing support for the boycott. The organizers state that the boycott will be in place until Dunkin Donuts offers an apology to the Arab-American community for this disgraceful surrender to racism.
The boycott is now also being supported by the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, the largest grassroots Muslim organization in the United States; the National Council of Arab Americans (NCA), a nationwide group of grassroots activists, community leaders, professionals, and academics; the Palestinian-American Womens Association, a community-based organization working to support and promote the needs and leadership of Arab American Women; and the National Lawyers Guild, the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States.
The boycott has already received extensive press coverage across the country and throughout the Middle East. Click this link to read the AFP coverage of the boycott. Newsweek ran a commentary on the controversy titled, "Not So Sweet: Why Dunkin' Donuts shouldn't have caved in the controversy over Rachael Ray's 'kaffiyeh' scarf." Click this link to read the article.
If you haven't yet sent your letter to Dunkin Donuts, click this link to do so right now.
For background information, we have included below our initial announcement of the boycott.
Boycott: Don't Shop at Dunkin' Donuts!
Say No to Anti-Arab Racism
Dunkin Donuts pulled this advertisement after right-wing racists complained that the scarf in the ad was a kaffiyeh. | The ANSWER Coalition and others are calling for a worldwide boycott of Dunkin’ Donuts. The boycott intends to send a powerful message to Dunkin’ Donuts and other corporations that engage in racism or pandering to anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racists.
Please lend your name to the boycott by clicking this link and send a letter to Dunkin' Donuts. Be sure to circulate this call to your friends on list serves and social networking sites.
Here’s the background:
Dunkin’ Donuts has capitulated and withdrawn an advertisement for its products following the allegation by a right-wing hack, Michelle Malkin, that the spokeswoman in the ad was pictured wearing a kaffiyeh, a scarf which is a staple of clothing traditionally worn by Palestinian men.
The scarf pictured in the ad is not actually a kaffiyeh. But the anti-Arab racism of the right-wing, pro-Bush ideologues like Malkin is so extreme that they launched their campaign because they “thought” the scarf was this traditional Arab garment. Dunkin’ Donuts pulled their ad apologizing that the scarf might even resemble a kaffiyeh.
In Malkin’s twisted world anything “Arab,” even a scarf, is “terrorist.” This is the same line of thinking promoted by the Bush administration in the wake of 9/11, when thousands of Middle Eastern men living in the United States were rounded up and falsely imprisoned. Some were even tried on phony “terrorism” charges. It is the same line of thinking that was used to promote the racist war drive against Afghanistan and then Iraq.
The fact that a giant corporation like Dunkin’ Donuts quickly pulled the advertisement is a sign that the pervasive racism, chauvinism and xenophobia peddled by right-wing bigots is a real danger. This is a classic tactic of fascist intimidation and demonization of an entire population.
We demand that Dunkin’ Donuts immediately apologize to the Arab-American community for this disgraceful surrender to racism. Until that apology is issued we will refuse to shop or buy any products marketed by the Dunkin' Donuts Corporation.
Please lend your name to the boycott by clicking this link and send a letter to Dunkin' Donuts. Be sure to circulate this call to your friends on list serves and social networking sites. | |
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