New Englanders have an ongoing love affair with their beloved, and ubiquitous, “Dunks.” The morning coffee (hot or iced – even in the depth of winter!), pastry, or breakfast sandwich has long been a part of our morning ritual. Dunkin’ is synonymous with the early risers, the hard-working set, the sports fans, and the pursuit of the American Dream.
Mark and Megan Pesce personify that dream, right here in Concord. In addition to raising their two boys (13 and 16), they are the hard-working owner-operators of all four local Dunkin’ locations – Thoreau St., Concord Turnpike, Sudbury Rd., and Main St. in West Concord.
Mark’s father opened his first Dunkin’ Donuts shop in West Medford in 1988. Mark grew up in the business, working there all through high school and college - included making donuts by hand back in the day! Today, after close to 31 years in the business, he and his wife Megan own and operate the four locations in Concord – they do everything from mop the floors to brew and serve the coffee, plus oversee the day to day operations. It’s a lot of hard work – especially in the midst of a pandemic.
“When COVID hit, we had to pivot hard to stay open and keep our amazing employees supported,” said Mark. “Revenues were down by as much as 60% in the early part of the pandemic. But we just couldn’t close our stores – there are literally single moms depending on that paycheck, and we weren’t going to let them down. We also jumped right in to help with efforts like Fuel the Fight and Concord Together - to help our friends and neighbors.”
The team at Dunkin’ supporting Kicks for Cancer
| Photo courtesy of Dunkin’Megan and Mark have worked hard to keep customers and their team safe and healthy. Plexiglass barriers and new cleaning procedures are in place, with a focus on high touch areas throughout the day. So is curbside delivery (you can order from your app in your car), as well as delivery through GrubHub and UberEats – so that friends and neighbors (including homebound students) don’t miss out on their daily Dunk’s.
“It’s a small thing, but keeping some of our daily ritual in place helps people to keep going. We are also hanging in there – but we really miss the personal, local, traditions that make our community so special,” said Megan. “We take pride in supporting our local community – everything from the high school sports teams, to important charity efforts like Kicks for Cancer or the Mighty Moose. Every year, we donate more than 2000 cups of hot chocolate for the Christmas tree lighting, we give donuts to school activities, and we love giving our local kids a job! Being such a part of the fabric of Concord is what makes all the hard work so worth it – this is a wonderful town.”
“The worst part is waking up every day not knowing if there will be another shut down,” said Mark. “So many people depend on us for their livelihood. It’s just so hard right now. We’ve learned a lot – and when we get through this, we’ll be better for it. But the only way to get there is to have the support of our community.”
So the next time you grab a cup of Dunk’s, you can feel good knowing that you’re supporting a Concord family - and our friends and neighbors who are working hard to keep the coffee brewing (iced or hot!) until we can all gather together once more to enjoy the many traditions that make Concord so very special.