Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee scouts for locations

Unlike some folks in their early 30s, Nicole Hansen has a pretty good idea how she’ll be spending the next few years.

Hansen, who heads the group that acquired franchise rights to develop nine Dunkin’ Donuts locations in the Reno-Sparks area, last week was scouting locations and interviewing management candidates as she prepares to open the first store in 2015.

The remainder of the locations are expected to be open by 2020.

The 30-year-old Hansen previously owned group of six privately branded coffee shops in the Seattle area.

Working with Mark Keyzers, a retail-space broker with NAI Alliance, Hansen said she is looking most closely at retail spaces that are close to high-quality residential areas for the first Reno-area store.

Her company, HT2 Franchising LLC, is looking for about 2,000 square feet for each location, with a preference for either end-cap or freestanding buildings that support drive-through operations.

Dunkin’ Donuts has said it likes locations with 15,000 residents within a three-minute drive and 25,000 residents within a five-minute drive.

The company headquartered at Canton, Mass., provides four restaurant design options for its franchise owners, and franchisees can mix and match elements from each of the design options.

Hansen said she’s also preparing for the challenges of introducing the Dunkin’ Donuts brand into a new market. Although the company’s signage is sported on more than 10,000 stores worldwide and it’s been a fixture on the East Coast since 1950, Dunkin’ Donuts only recently began its push into Western markets.

While the company is known for its coffee and doughnuts, Hansen said a sandwich menu offers opportunity to grow all-day sales.

Dunkin’ Donuts started looking for potential franchisees in northern Nevada more than a year ago, and Hansen said she undertook six months of interviews and business planning before she landed the rights to develop the stores.

Hansen said she’s backed by a group of investors.