Oakland residents petition proposed Dunkin' Donuts

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - A group of Oakland residents is taking on national restaurant chain Dunkin’ Donuts. The group launched a petition drive Saturday against the popular chain from entering their neighborhood. The restaurant wants to set up at a current Kwik Way site along Lake Park Avenue, near Interstate 580 and Lake Merritt.

The group asks fellow Grand Lake residents if they want the donut shop or if they want a different mixed-use plan that would include housing and other businesses.  They claim the extended length of the 25-year lease would prevent the mixed -use plan.

Ken Katz, publisher of the Splashpad Newsletter said, “A new fast food franchise would postpone for the next 25 years the hopes our community had for a housing and retail complex.” He went on to say that the parking lot for the shop would become a “trash magnet”.

Other concerns include what the group claims would be the reversing of a pedestrian-friendly trend for that stretch of Lake Park Ave. 

The group was at the Grand Lake Farmers’ Market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday gathering signatures for the petition.

Local singer-songwriter, Eric Hughes was so passionate about his opposition, he decided to write a song called "Dunkin' Donuts Blues" about it. The song mostly laments minimum wage and echoes the Bay Area's housing shortage. 

The company plans on opening its first Bay Area location in 2017. Dunkin’ Donuts said its restaurant will satisfy a growing consumer demand for its food and service.