In Wellesley, character counts
But town loses bid to bar new Dunkin' Donuts shop
Few things are as inextricable from the New England identity as the ubiquitous pink-and-orange of Dunkin' Donuts shops, so common they're used for business meetings and cited as landmarks in driving directions. But not so, apparently, in Wellesley.
The aesthetically minded town -- home to the author of ''America the Beautiful" and, according to its website, the nation's first zoning laws -- is in an uproar over a new Dunkin' Donuts shop that has opened blocks from town center.
In a hamlet where residents can lunch at The Uptown Gourmet and shop at Comina (''where the world's finest furnishings and accessories come together"), the town has thrown its bureaucratic weight against the new franchise.
It first tried to convince the owner that he is obligated to seek a town license to continue operating. When he refused, the town took its beef to court, where a judge ruled against it this month. Officials are now plotting a new law that could give the town power to shut down the franchise.
The stakes are considered high. The franchise, in the words of one town official, is ''a barnacle on the face of progress."
The new Wellesley outlet is a somewhat toned-down version of the usual Dunkin' Donuts look, housed in a red brick building with fresh flowers in the bay window and a black-and-gold wooden sign, instead of the usual lighted one.
Still, its presence has become a kind of call to arms.
''What this was for us was a huge wake-up call," said Selectman David J. Himmelberger.
One of the reasons, beyond traffic and parking concerns, town officials say, is that such franchises could damage the town's character. In one recent effort to preserve that charm, Wellesley forced the developer of a nearby commercial strip to prohibit ''
The town has not banned chains from the town altogether, with a
There are also other Dunkin' Donuts franchises, though they are well out of view, in outlying corners of the town, or, in one case, tucked inside a Mobil gas station.
The new Dunkin' Donuts shop was all the more alarming to town officials because it seemed to slip, for a time, below the radar.
The owner, who declined to speak to the Globe, signed a lease late last year for the space when a bakery that sold handmade breads vacated the space, according to town officials and court papers. But because the owner never applied for a restaurant license, town officials say they were unaware that the franchise was moving in until they spotted a legal notice in the local paper about plans to convert the space into a Dunkin' Donuts.
According to court papers and town officials, the owner is arguing that his shop escapes the town's definition of a restaurant because it has no seats and therefore needs no license.
Town officials took the matter to court in February. A Superior Court Judge ruled against the request for an injunction this month, saying licenses are not required for take-out establishments and that another law cited by the town, a requirement that coffee and tea houses not operate without licenses, had not been enforced since its adoption in 1918.
Town officials are now pinning their hopes on a piece of legislation they plan to introduce at Town Meeting in coming weeks. If passed, it would require Dunkin' Donuts and every other existing and future take-out establishment in Wellesley to obtain a restaurant license from the town.
When contacted by the Globe, a general manager at Javamine, the company listed in court papers as the Dunkin' Donuts franchise owner, declined to give his name and said his boss was out of town this week and had not authorized him to answer questions.
''I know how hard it was to open the store, and I don't know what's going to happen," the manager said.
A lawyer for the company, Michael W. Ford, could not be reached last night.
Among the citizenry, there are clearly mixed feelings about the new Dunkin' Donuts shop.
Christine Stirret and her twin sister, Laura, dropped in during a lunch break from nearby Wellesley High School. They are both happy to have a Dunkin' Donuts. ''People are going to get fast food, even if it's not in the city," said Laura. ''It's kind of nice to have a full Dunkin' Donuts," said Christine.
''It's not as attractive as it should be," said Maureen Bach, who works at a neighboring dental practice. She opposes the store but nonetheless bought a coffee there on a recent morning.
Some love it and are not afraid to say so publicly. ''There could be a lot worse things than a Dunkin' Donuts," said Joan Lynch, who stopped by for coffee this week. But, then, she lives in Natick.
Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com. 
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
