Dunkin’ plans to add at least nine new locations across the Columbus area, in an expansion that would keep Central Ohio at the center of a fast-growing contest among drive-thru coffee chains. WhatNow reported the plan this week, noting that several of the new stores are expected to open between late 2026 and 2027.
The growth is being led by the Gilligan Company, the franchise operator behind the planned stores. Gilligan Company President Travis Sensabaugh told Columbus Business First that the operator aims to add four or five new units annually over the next five or six years, according to WhatNow’s reporting of the Columbus Business First interview.
Opening dates for some of the planned stores remain subject to change, WhatNow reported, and three of the Gilligan Company’s projects have not yet been publicly identified. That means the exact neighborhoods set to gain a new Dunkin’ will become clear in stages, as individual projects are announced and built out.
The expansion does not arrive in an empty market. WhatNow noted that other drive-thru coffee chains, including 7 Brew and Dutch Bros, are also developing new locations around Columbus, turning coffee into one of the region’s most visible retail competitions.
For Central Ohio drivers and commuters, the practical effect is straightforward: more drive-thru options on the routes people already travel for work, school and errands. Each new store also brings the usual mix of construction work, hiring and a new tenant for a commercial corner or pad site.
Dunkin’, founded in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts, operates through franchised locations that offer varying combinations of drive-thru service, takeaway and indoor seating, WhatNow reported. The Columbus-area plan follows that same franchised model, with the Gilligan Company setting the local pace.
What happens next is a rolling series of site announcements. As the operator identifies its remaining projects and firms up opening dates, Columbus-area communities will learn which of the at least nine planned locations lands near them first, with the earliest openings expected in late 2026.
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