Covington’s first Dunkin’ is open to the public.
The new store, located at the corner of Bakewell and W. 5th streets in West Covington, opened for business at 9 a.m. Monday.
The new store is owned and operated by One Holland Group, a Taylor Mill-based restaurant franchisee. One Holland operates multiple Dunkin’ stores throughout Northern Kentucky, as well as several LaRosa’s, Skylines, First Watch Cafes and Barleycorn’s.
“We’re now from Covington, right near the Ohio River, all the way down to Richmond, Kentucky, with our sights set on the Tennessee border,” said Gary Holland, founder of One Holland Group.
Dillon Adams, president of One Holland, said there was plenty of intrigue about when Dunkin’ would open.
“We’ve had people walking up to the window,” Adams said. “You’d get a new person every five minutes walking up to the window. We’re excited to finally be open, and we believe that that’s probably a great indication of what type of location this will be.”
The Covington Dunkin’ is a drive-thru-only store, similar to another One Holland Dunkin’ at 1826 Dixie Hwy in Fort Wright. Adams said many of the Covington store’s employees trained at the Fort Wright Dunkin’ over the past few months in anticipation of the opening date.
“They’ve been training at the Fort Wright Dunkin’,” Adams said. “Thank you to the team at the Fort Wright Dunkin’ for training them well, so everyone in there knows exactly what they’re doing. You should get great service from day one.”
The Dunkin’ was constructed on the former site of the now-demolished Liquor City outlet, which closed in 2023. The property is a prime location for travelers and commuters, being less than a mile from the north and south I-75 exit ramps into Covington.
It’s surrounded by other fast-food restaurants, including Chipotle, McDonald’s, White Castle, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell and Gold Star, that also cater to interstate travelers.
The morning of the opening, the City of Covington hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome Dunkin’ and One Holland. Mayor Ron Washington thanked One Holland for “investing in our city and one of our important gateways.”
As part of the ceremony, the Ludlow High School pep band performed several songs at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. One Holland gifted each band member with $50 Dunkin’ gift cards and donated $1,000 to the program as a whole.
