Davis Dunkin Donuts looks Destroyed and Dead

[ron_newman]

A construction crew has demolished the interior wall separating Dunkin Donuts from the rest of the building. The regulars never got a chance to say goodbye.

I'll miss their $1 afternoon "happy hour" specials.

Comments

[she-of-emeralds.livejournal.com]

Nice alliteration there.

[dougo.livejournal.com]

I think they have the same deal in their Powderhouse Square location?

[ron_newman]

Possibly, but I wouldn't walk that far for it. The Davis DD was a 3-minute walk away from where I live.

[keithn.livejournal.com]

I gave up on them when they switched to paper cups and my coffee was cold by the time I got to work. That was Somerville's fault, though.

[ron_newman]

I usually brought my own travel mug. They were happy to fill it.

[teko.livejournal.com]

When they closed, the local businesses were apparently told that they'd be re-opening in "two weeks".

Given that there's absolutely nothing left of them -- floor, walls, ceiling have all been demolished -- that ain't happening.

Is that entire building being essentially demolished? This situation has gone from "shoring up an unsafe wall" to gutting the interior and shearing off all surfaces of the exterior of the building. Can the city take the place by eminent domain?

[ron_newman]

I was amazed to walk by last night and see there there no longer is any first-floor façade at all along Elm Street. There's nothing but flimsy plywood separating the building interior from the elements.

[teko.livejournal.com]

Do you have any idea who I can contact to find out what's going on with this building? Local residents were told they were "shoring up the wall" when this emergency project began, and that some of the unsafe/unstable elements of the building would be removed. Right now the entire facade has been destroyed.

[ron_newman]

maybe Inspectional Services, and also aldermen Jack Connolly and Rebekah Gewirtz?

[teko.livejournal.com]

I just spoke to the city building inspector, who said that the brickwork was in such bad shape that it'd decayed to the point of being unusable -- he said they'd been removing bricks by hand, as the masonry had completely disintegrated in spots. So they're removing the entire façade and rebuilding it while reinforcing it.

He said "If it was up to me, I would've just torn it down, but I'm not the one paying for it." He told me that the end product would be a really beautiful building.

[ron_newman]

Thanks! Did you happen to ask him if the owner plans to reopen the Dunkin Donuts?

[teko.livejournal.com]

I did ask if he knew about plans for businesses there, and he said no, he didn't know what would be going in once it was finished.