Donut Worry, Be Happy?

“America runs on Dunkin’.” There’s no way to know if that’s true or not, but Dunkin’ sure does run my life.

When I moved onto Pitt’s campus my freshman year, I came across the greatest and worst thing to ever happen to me: a Dunkin’ Donuts right on Forbes within 5-10 minutes from my Sutherland dorm. What started out as a measly craving on a special occasion quickly turned into a full-blown addiction, and as of April 2018, a part-time job.

I’ve had many jobs in my day, but working in the food industry has proven to be an experience unlike any other—especially on a college campus. There are 4 accessible Dunkin' locations in the 'burgh for students at Pitt. If you've ever visited the Dunkin' right on Forbes, you'll know that you've got to time your visit here perfectly. At any given point in the day, the line extends out the door, wrapping down the street. As you could probably imagine, things behind the counter get pretty crazy. We go through several hundred donuts, bagels, and croissants a day-- making them fresh in the kitchen 3 times a day. Quite honestly, I could never look at another donut, bagel, muffin, or sausage patty for the rest of my life and be quite content.

If customers choose to skip the line, rightfully so, they can order On-the-Go through the Dunkin' app. As you can probably imagine, with such demand by Oakland residents and Pitt students alike, our On-the-Go orders come in at just an alarming rate as customers physically in line. Every time an On-the-Go order comes through, a tri-tone dinging rings until you manually shut it off. To put it simply: it is the sound that plagues my nightmares.

Honestly, how could I complain about anything, though, when I get free coffee any time I want it? That’s right. FREE. COFFEE. ANY. TIME. With such great power comes great responsibility, however. What's keeping me up all night every night these days? Could it really just be my crippling anxiety or perhaps the 5 liters of coffee I drink every day? For all intents and purposes, I'll say it's the latter.

Regardless, with fall in full swing, our seasonal flavors you have to check out to really pumpkin spice up your life include the Maple Pecan, Butter Pecan, and Pumpkin flavored swirls that can be added to any hot or iced coffee, macchiato, latte, or cappuccino. Jingle your bells, kids, because winter is coming soon, too, which means Peppermint Mocha will be on its way shortly!

At the end of the day, if you’re looking into a part-time job during your stay here at Pitt, I definitely would say give Dunkin’ a try. You may leave each and every shift smelling like a walking, talking espresso bean, but if you're into that sort of thing, this is the place for you. The staff is comprised of mostly college kids just like you, and they're quite flexible with availability. If you're looking into a fast-paced, fun environment, and hello, FREE COFFEE, you have my blessing to go ahead and check it out!