In June we reported that the pancake chain IHOP had changed its name to IHOb (including the lower-case “b”), though the reason for the change was the time a mystery. (Later, we learned that this was all a publicity stunt to advertise that IHOP — which went back to its original name — also sold burgers.)
Now another curiosity has emerged in the land of chain restaurants. This time, the vendor is Dunkin’ Donuts, which henceforth will answer to the name “Dunkin’, including the apostrophe. The Associated Press (via The Telegraph) explains:
Doughnuts are still on the menu, but the company is renaming itself “Dunkin’” to reflect its increasing emphasis on coffee and other drinks.
The change will officially take place in January, when the new name will start appearing on napkins, boxes and signs at its U.S. stores. The name change will eventually be adopted by international stores.
Dunkin’ has more than 12,500 restaurants globally.
The purpose behind the move is to cater to a younger clientele, which I suppose makes sense.
But why are they retaining the apostrophe? That’s what I want to know.
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