Town changes name to Dunkin' for one day. 'That's the dream.'
A Massachusetts town is literally running on Dunkin' after it changed its name to the coffee chain's moniker — for one day.
A town board in Stow, Massachusetts, on July 8 unanimously passed a motion to rename the town to Dunkin' on Thursday, July 24.
The name change is merely ceremonious to recognize the grand opening of the town's new Dunkin' location, officials said.
Stow, which is about 25 miles northwest of Boston, is shedding the notorious title it's been known by for the last three years — a Dunkin' desert.
Why is Stow changing its name to Dunkin' for the day?
Stow went viral in 2022 when WBZ NewsRadio, a local radio station in Boston, reported on the town's status as a so-called "Dunkin' desert."
That year, the town's only two Dunkin's closed, leaving it without access to the chain, which is widely considered a staple in Massachusetts.
Megan Pesce, who owns several Dunkin' stores in the Greater Boston area, told the Stow board at a July 8 meeting that she and her husband decided to open the new location in the town after the others closed.
"As soon as we heard that the two stores in Stow were consecutively sort of closed, we said, 'We need to fix that,'" she said.
Grace Kirkman, an associate field marketing manager for Dunkin, told the board at the meeting that the name change would help generate publicity around the new location.
"It's really just giving us a great story to be able to go out and share with the world," Kirkman said. "You will become the first ever Dunkin, Massachusetts, which I think for every Massachusetts resident, that's the dream."
When is Stow changing its name to Dunkin?
The town of Stow will be known as Dunkin' for one day, on July 24, which is the grand opening date for the new store.
The name change is far from the only way Dunkin' is celebrating — they will also be giving away 100 days of free coffee for the first 100 Dunkin' Rewards members in line, according to a release.
The company also said it will be making a $5,000 donation to the Stow Food Pantry on behalf of the Dunkin' Joy in Childhood Foundation.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
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