Dunkin' Donuts Expanding into California

45 stores coming. Goal is 1,000.

Forty-six down, 954 to go. In its march to 1,000 stores in California, Dunkin' Donuts on Thursday announced that four franchise groups had signed agreements to develop 45 of its restaurants in Southern California, radically expanding the chain's footprint in the state beyond a single outpost on a Marine Corps base near Oceanside. The first few are expected to open in 2015 in Orange and Los Angeles counties, though some stores inside other establishments (universities, casinos, supermarkets, airports, and the like) may open sooner.

Where will Californians be able to get a Munchkin? Although franchisees select the sites, they must obtain approval from the company, which offers guidelines: Stores should locate in areas with a median household income of $30,000 or more and, if they're in the suburbs, be within a three-minute drive for 15,000 people or a five-minute drive for 25,000 people, according to materials for franchisees. Also, new locations should be off a road with an average daily traffic count of 20,000. In other words: There are plenty of options.