But Stan Gordon is opening a Dunkin’ Donuts shop on Gateway Boulevard this fall where he hopes people will not run, but linger awhile and conduct some business.

Toward that end, this shop will include a conference room.

Already, Starbucks and Panera Bread have elevated to a fine art the invitation to hang out in a comfy chair with coffee, pastry and a laptop. And some McDonald’s locations, like the one on Yamato Road and Congress Avenue, have installed big-screen televisions for the apparently desirable coffee-drinking loiterer.

But the idea that a group could rent a conference room for business or a birthday party is taking the coffee-lounge idea one step further.

Gordon’s new-concept coffee shop appears to be the first of its kind in Palm Beach County.

The coffee-shop conference room is already available in at least three Dunkin’ stores in Broward County – in Pompano Beach, Hollywood and Davie.

Read More: Palm Beach Post

The Internal Revenue Service launched a new program that will enable many employers to resolve past worker classification issues and achieve certainty under the tax law at a low cost by voluntarily reclassifying their workers. This new program will allow employers the opportunity to get into compliance by making a minimal payment covering past payroll tax obligations rather than waiting for an IRS audit.

This is part of a larger “Fresh Start” initiative at the IRS to help taxpayers and businesses address their tax responsibilities.“This settlement program provides certainty and relief to employers in an important area,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “This is part of a wider effort to help taxpayers and businesses to help give them a fresh start with their tax obligations.”

The new Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP) is designed to increase tax compliance and reduce burden for employers by providing greater certainty for employers, workers and the government. Under the program, eligible employers can obtain substantial relief from federal payroll taxes they may have owed for the past, if they prospectively treat workers as employees. The VCSP is available to many businesses, tax-exempt organizations and government entities that currently erroneously treat their workers or a class or group of workers as nonemployees or independent contractors, and now want to correctly treat these workers as employees.

To be eligible, an applicant must:

• Consistently have treated the workers in the past as nonemployees,

• Have filed all required Forms 1099 for the workers for the previous three years

• Not currently be under audit by the IRS, the Department of Labor or a state agency concerning the classification of these workers

Interested employers can apply for the program by filing Form 8952, Application for Voluntary Classification Settlement Program, at least 60 days before they want to begin treating the workers as employees.

Employers accepted into the program will pay an amount effectively equaling just over one percent of the wages paid to the reclassified workers for the past year. No interest or penalties will be due, and the employers will not be audited on payroll taxes related to these workers for prior years. Participating employers will, for the first three years under the program, be subject to a special six-year statute of limitations, rather than the usual three years that generally applies to payroll taxes.

The above is taken from the Internal Revenue Service website and was submitted by James P. Ventriglia CPA whose accounting firm has been servicing Dunkin franchisees for over 20 years

The chief executive of the new National DCP (NDCP) is not someone who makes promises easily. But, Kevin Bruce is confident of his promise that Dunkin’ Donuts franchise owners will see lower prices between now and end of June—and then again at every six month interval until December 2014.

“We’re confident that through our initiatives that we will reduce prices to our members for the next three years as spelled out in the agreement,” said Bruce, who noted how just saying that was such a “good feeling”.

The savings is but one of the many happy returns for Dunkin’ Donuts franchise owners who voted overwhelmingly to support merging the regional operations of its supply chain into one, truly national entity with one board of directors and one, unified mission.

The DCP was already unique because few, if any, franchised restaurant systems also have a supply chain cooperative that franchisees own and operate. Now, as a result of its 25 year Relationship Agreement with Dunkin’ Brands—a core component of the merger—the NDCP now controls its sourcing as well as its distribution.

“That means we go from being a vendor to being a partner and that is exciting,” said Michael Batista, who became Chairman of the National DCP Board of Directors in January 2012. Being more than just a distribution vendor equates to being partners with the Brand, Batista says. “We are at the table early on to drive the cost of existing and new products. If we were strong before, we are stronger now.”

“The new agreement strengthens and ensures the NDCP exclusive role in the distribution and procurement processes. Now we are the exclusive entity and can leverage that role for the benefit of franchisees,” said John Justo, who served as a member of the National DCP Board and the Northeast Board until the end of 2011.

When Bruce and the regional DCP boards began discussing how to merge operations into one entity, cost savings was a primary incentive. “One of the value elements is having a smaller nimbler board structure such that we can make decisions that allow us to achieve savings, efficiencies and productivity more quickly.”

Bruce says that includes not just taking advantages of the economies of scale that come with merging four operations into one but also leveraging the strength of the co-op to negotiate more competitive prices with vendors. “If it wasn’t a cost savings deal we wouldn’t have done it,” he said.

“The entire initiative will enable franchisees to secure the lowest, sustainable cost of sales possible, with savings coming from many platforms. We’ll have unified control over our operations, and be able to leverage the synergies of a billion dollar-plus supply chain,” said Justo.

“The mission of the DCP is to serve members at the lowest cost,” said Dipak Patel, who was co-Chair of the National DCP Board from 2008-2011 and still serves on the NDCP Board of Directors. “Because of the merger, unit profitability will increase which will enhance franchisee equity.”

“It will increase profitability by streamlining operations at the NDCP,” said Chris Prazeres, who was a member of both the National and Northeast DCP boards through the end of 2011. He says the NDCP’s control over sourcing will be pivotal to delivering members the lowest possible cost which will increase franchisee profitability.

Bruce says the National DCP has two major goals for 2012: reducing food costs and maximizing savings in distribution.

“Every region will benefit from lower pricing and costs savings returned to them through their patronage dividend and lower case prices,” said Bruce. That’s the promise of the new DCP and he’s sticking with it.

“I always knew today would be special, but I never dreamed it would be this grand,” said Octavio.

In a tent outside the shop, servers in retro uniforms offered free donuts, peppermint mocha lattes and cheddar bacon flatbread sandwiches to guests. The re-opening ceremony kicked off with a performance by marching bands from two local high schools. Emcees, from popular Boston radio station WROR, welcomed the crowd and introduced the first speaker John Costello, Dunkin’ Brands Chief Global Marketing and Innovation Officer.

Costello congratulated the Carvalho brothers and spoke of the location and brand’s rich heritage and bright future. “Franchisees like Victor and Octavio are our secret weapon. They are the ones who build a bond with Dunkin’ guests and with the community,” he said. “Today captures the best of the old and the new. We couldn’t be more proud of what this store represents.”

Quincy Mayor Tom Koch, State Senator John Keenan and Representative Tackey Chan followed Costello, expressing their congratulations and sincere appreciation for all the Carvalho brothers do to support the community. Each also shared his thoughts on the history and outlook of Dunkin’ Donuts in Quincy. “It seems to me the future is yesterday and it starts right here,” said Chan.

The final speaker, Victor Carvalho, received a rousing ovation as he took the podium. Victor spoke of his family’s involvement with the franchise, which began when his and Octavio’s father, Jose, took over the Southern Artery shop in 1979 from Hy Schwarz, brother-in-law of Dunkin’ Donuts Founder Bill Rosenberg.

“Octavio and I grew to understand what our family had—the history of the brand and this location. We take great pride in being able to say we own and work in the first Dunkin’ Donuts,” he said. “I can’t say enough about our team and our guests. Our guests are unique because they have an emotional connection with Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s a brand they love and want to come back to every day.”

At the close of his remarks, Victor invited his brother to join him to present a $5,000 check to Kathy Quigley and Claire Brennan of the Germantown Neighborhood Center (GNC), one of the local charities the brothers support. Since 1982, the GNC has provided critical services to youth and families in the Germantown community of Quincy.

At the close of the ceremony, guests gathered for the re-dedication of a plaque commemorating the location as the site of the original Dunkin’ Donuts and proceeded to tour the remodeled shop.

Franchise Owners Victor & Octavio Carvalo Beeming with Pride

At ages 12 and 14 respectively, Victor and Octavio began working at the store on day one of their father’s ownership. “We fell in love with it immediately,” Victor said. The brothers officially took over the franchise when their father retired in 1994. Now, Victor’s 20-year-old son works at the store while also attending Salve Regina University.

When the shop came up for its 10-year remodel, the brothers approached Dunkin’ Brands with the idea of doing something special to commemorate the historical nature of the location. Together they planned this one-of-a-kind retro remodel. To achieve the makeover, the store closed for 11 days before unveiling its new look last month.

“We’ve always been proud of this shop, but today surpassed our expectations,” said Victor. “We couldn’t be more proud to have the support of the community, our fellow franchisees and Dunkin’ corporate. We’ve all been on the same page working towards the same goal, and it all came together today in a big way. It’s such a great feeling.”

That’s when it will lose the main patents on K-Cups, the coffee pods that helped make Green Mountain the largest player in the $1 billion-plus U.S. single-serve coffee market.

Once the patents expire, competitors can make their own version of K-cups and threaten the prospects of a company already battling criticism from hedge fund manager David Einhorn that its market-share gains have peaked. Einhorn, president of Greenlight Capital Inc., declined to comment for this story and won’t say if his firm is shorting the stock.

“New entrants into private label could hurt their volume,” said Bea Chiem, a San Francisco-based analyst at Standard & Poor’s, who gives the company a B+ credit rating, four levels below investment grade. When the patents run out, it could also “open up the door for other branded competitors to step in,” she said.

The Waterbury, Vermont-based company fell 39 percent on Nov. 10, the day after reporting fourth-quarter sales that trailed analysts’ estimates, erasing about $4 billion in market value. The shares have since clawed back 26 percent, falling 1.2 percent to $51.69 yesterday. Green Mountain has advanced 57 percent this year, compared with a 3.3 percent slide in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

Green Mountain got into the single-serve coffee business in 2002 when it paid $14.4 million for 41 percent of Keurig Inc., a maker of coffee brewing machines. Four years later it bought the rest of Keurig, selling the brewers at a reasonable price and making money on the K-Cups — which only worked with Keurig machines — much the same way Procter & Gamble Co. does with razor blades. Sales have since increased an average of 65 percent a year.

Read more at: BusinessWeek

IRS Announces New Voluntary Worker Classification Settlement Program; Past Payroll Tax Relief Provided to Employers Who Reclassify Their Workers

The Internal Revenue Service today launched a new program that will enable many employers to resolve past worker classification issues and achieve certainty under the tax law at a low cost by voluntarily reclassifying their workers. This new program will allow employers the opportunity to get into compliance by making a minimal payment covering past payroll tax obligations rather than waiting for an IRS audit.

This is part of a larger “Fresh Start” initiative at the IRS to help taxpayers and businesses address their tax responsibilities.“This settlement program provides certainty and relief to employers in an important area,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “This is part of a wider effort to help taxpayers and businesses to help give them a fresh start with their tax obligations.”

The new Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP) is designed to increase tax compliance and reduce burden for employers by providing greater certainty for employers, workers and the government. Under the program, eligible employers can obtain substantial relief from federal payroll taxes they may have owed for the past, if they prospectively treat workers as employees. The VCSP is available to many businesses, tax-exempt organizations and government entities that currently erroneously treat their workers or a class or group of workers as nonemployees or independent contractors, and now want to correctly treat these workers as employees.
To be eligible, an applicant must:
• Consistently have treated the workers in the past as nonemployees,
• Have filed all required Forms 1099 for the workers for the previous three years
• Not currently be under audit by the IRS, the Department of Labor or a state agency concerning the classification of these workers

Interested employers can apply for the program by filing Form 8952, Application for Voluntary Classification Settlement Program, at least 60 days before they want to begin treating the workers as employees.

Employers accepted into the program will pay an amount effectively equaling just over one percent of the wages paid to the reclassified workers for the past year. No interest or penalties will be due, and the employers will not be audited on payroll taxes related to these workers for prior years. Participating employers will, for the first three years under the program, be subject to a special six-year statute of limitations, rather than the usual three years that generally applies to payroll taxes.

Dunkin’ announced Monday that the lead underwriters in the company’s recent IPO plan to waive the lock-up restriction for up to 732,758 shares held by 15 executives, former executives and directors at the company. Bain was one of three private equity firms that invested in Dunkin’ before the company’s IPO.

The shares, worth about $19 million at Friday’s closing price, amount to about 0.6 percent of the company’s 120.1 million shares.

The officers and directors at the company who will see the IPO lock-up waived include:
Nigel Travis, CEO of Dunkin Brands and president of Dunkin’ Donuts U.S.
Neil Moses, CFO Dunkin’ Brands.
John Costello, chief global marketing and innovation officer.
Richard Emmett, svp and general counsel.
Kate Lavelle, former Dunkin’ Donuts CFO.
Paul Twohig, COO Dunkin’ Donuts U.S.
Jon Luther, former Dunkin’ CEO.
Todd Abbrecht, Managing Director at Thomas H. Lee Partners  .. .
Andrew Balson, Managing Director at Bain Capital Partners, LLC.
Anita Balaji, Vice President at The Carlyle Group  .. .
Anthony DiNovi, Co-President of Thomas H. Lee Partners.
Sandra Horbach, Managing Director of The Carlyle Group.
Michael Hines, Board member.
Mark Nunnelly, Managing Director at Bain Capital Partners, LLC.
Joseph Uva, board member and former president and CEO of Univision Communications Inc.

Earlier this month Dunkin’ reported that third quarter sales were up, but income dropped. The firm also said on Nov. 1 that it would offer 22 million shares of its common stock for sale in a secondary offering.

Read more at: Boston Business Journal

Other Related stories: Dunkin’ Brands Announces Waiver of IPO Lock-Up Restriction for Certain Officers and Directors

• In 2010, Quiznos sandwich chain in Denver agreed to pay current and former franchisees a total of $206 million to settle lawsuits
• In February, a Delaware court ruled in favor of the Association of Kentucky Fried Chicken Franchisees, in a dispute with KFC over advertising funds
• And this July, a U.S. District Court in Connecticut ruled 170-member Edible Arrangements Independent Franchisee Association had the “legal standing” to sue its franchisor.

Attorney Justin Klein (justin@marksklein.com) who represents the Edible Arrangements franchisees, said the ruling is a significant victory for franchisee associations all over the country, because it gives associations the power to litigate claims on behalf of their members.

By banding together, franchisees are able to hire high-caliber attorneys and advisors – just like their franchisors, said Eric Karp, an attorney with Witmer, Karp, Warner & Ryan, which represents 12 national franchisee associations.  The new Federal Trade Commission’s Franchise Rule also gives a boost to IndFAs, Karp said, because it requires franchisors with franchisee associations to include information about them in their Franchise Disclosure Documents.

Representatives of independent associations also helped push a Fair Franchising bill through the Rhode Island legislature three years ago and this June, Jim Coen, president of the 2,500 member Dunkin’ Donuts Independent Franchisee Organization, testified for a similar bill now under consideration by lawmakers in Massachusetts.  “If you represent a significant organization with significant resources, elected officials will listen to you,” Coen said.

Read more at: BlueMauMau

TD Bank surveyed 1,807 consumers within its footprint of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South Carolina and Florida to better understand perceptions and attitudes concerning holiday shopping behaviors, specifically examining the role of gift-purchasing and consumer sentiment regarding gift cards.

When it comes to the stress of holiday gift-giving, TD said more than one-third of respondents believe the greatest stresses lie in not knowing what to buy or worrying whether the recipient will like the gift. This may explain why 64 percent of respondents said they plan to purchase gift cards this year.

“With the majority of consumers looking to spend the same as last year, gift cards are a perfect option to keep holiday spending in check,” TD Bank Head of Products Nandita Bakhshi said.

The practical appeal of gift cards also emerges, as a major portion of consumers plan to use gift cards on everyday expenses rather than luxury items: 31 percent intend to use on day-to-day expenses such as groceries and gas. A combined 11 percent intend to use them for household items (kitchenware, furniture, etc.) or living expenses (bills, rent, etc.).

While the majority of consumers expect their holiday spending to stay on par from last year, 28 percent expect to decrease spending — citing the state of the economy (64 percent) and trying to save money (46 percent) as primary reasons. Roughly 14 percent still say they expect their spending to increase.

Read more at: The Philadelphia Business Journal

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, seeks forced compliance with remodeling guidelines and damages from Leal Donuts Inc. of North Adams, Mass.; Maria Donuts Inc. of Hudson, N.Y.; and Pico Donuts Inc. of Catskill, N.Y. The companies’ principal shareholders also are named as defendants.

According to Dunkin’s complaint, franchisees must abide by decor guidelines. Timelines laid out in the suit suggest the parent company showed considerable patience in waiting for the defendants to act accordingly.

The suit argues that franchisees that are out of compliance are inappropriately benefiting from advertising by Dunkin’ and other franchisees.

Read more at: Boston Business Journal

Other Related Stories: Dunkin’ Sues Franchisees

Dunkin’ Not Shy in the Courtroom: More Franchisees Sued