Rosenberg, William

▪ 2003

      American entrepreneur (b. June 10, 1916, Boston, Mass.—d. Sept. 20, 2002, Mashpee, Mass.), founded the iconic Dunkin' Donuts chain, the largest coffee and pastry chain in the world. He started out providing business lunches, delivering sandwiches and snacks to offices in Boston. Noticing that coffee and pastries were his best-sellers, he opened his first Dunkin' Donuts (originally named Open Kettle) in 1950. His success was due to higher-quality coffee and an astonishing variety of doughnuts. The chain spread rapidly, and by 2002 there were 5,000 outlets in 37 countries. Rosenberg's skills as a businessman were legendary, and in 1959 he helped create the International Franchise Association. In 1988 he handed control of the chain to his son Robert, who acquired Baskin-Robbins and the Togo sandwich restaurants. In 1990 Dunkin' Donuts was in turn acquired by Allied Domecq, a British food conglomerate. After his retirement Rosenberg became a successful horse breeder and founded the William Rosenberg Institute of Entrepreneurship at Harvard University. His autobiography, Time to Make the Donuts, was published in 2001.

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