BY MARTHA MARRAZZA

In print | Published January 26, 2006

Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins have secured a permit to move into the building that previously housed Michael’s Pharmacy. The new franchise is expected to open in the ville by the second week of May.

After submitting a request for a building permit in December, five partners gained approval for their business, which would combine a Dunkin’ Donuts and a Baskin Robbins. Although the partners are still searching for a contractor to renovate the building, Swarthmore Borough Manager Jane Billings estimated that the business would be open by graduation.

One of the partners in the project, Dipak Patel, said he and others selected the location for a Dunkin’ Donuts based on a variety of factors. “We were assigned to explore the available real estate in this area, and we saw a sign that said this property was available,” he said. “From our point of view this looked like a good place for us, for during the summer and for college students. So we got into a negotiation and got a permit.”

While the contractors are not expected to make many changes to the exterior of the building, Billings said there will be extensive construction done in the interior. “From the building proposal they submitted, it looks like it will pretty much be split,” she said. “On the right side when you come in there will be ice cream stuff. Then more towards the back is where the doughnut stuff will be.”

Patel confirmed that the current appearance of Michael’s Pharmacy will remain the same. “From the outside, we are going to try to keep the same look and blend into the surrounding shops,” he said. “For inside, we will be doing construction that will take six to eight weeks to complete. That design will be a completely new design.”

Billings said adjustments to the building will benefit the town revitalization efforts. “They are going to open up the windows so you’re able to see inside the building. This is a plus,” she said. “In a downtown business area we like to have visibility into stores. It creates a traditional downtown feeling. We’re really excited for the store.”

Ken Wright, a member of the independent Swarthmore Town Center group that works on revitalizing Swarthmore’s downtown area, said he is pleased that Dunkin’ Donuts is remodeling the building. “We need someone with big bucks to go in there to make Michael’s into substantive real estate, and I’m pleased that Dunkin’ Donuts has enough money to go in there and make those changes,” he said. “I think a lot of people are apprehensive, but I don’t think they have thought it through. They don’t want Dunkin’ Donuts, they want someone else, but we can’t get someone else who would be willing to redo the building. I was afraid that it was going to be turned into a real estate office, and that would be very terrible.”

Some members of the community, however, oppose Dunkin’ Donuts’ move into Michael’s, Billings said. “A few people still do have reservations. There have been a lot of letters, but they are much calmer than letters earlier in the year,” she said. “Basically, one said, wouldn’t it be nice if we had a pharmacy that sold drugs and paper goods alongside, but that’s not going to happen in today’s economy. The letters echoed more of a general feeling of resignation and how difficult it was to operate in today’s environment.”

People who protest the move are now considering business at the individual level rather than the large corporation level, Billings said. “Mr. Patel is very excited about being here and he wants to serve people,” she said. “I think people are trying to focus not on the nameless corporation, but on the franchisee who will operate this.”

Swarthmore citizen Perri Ann Evanson said community sentiment is mixed. “I think half the people think it’s positive, and half think it’s negative. It depends on where you stand on franchises,” she said.

Whether or not Dunkin’ Donuts will be successful, Wright praises the franchise for pumping funds into the building. “I don’t think Dunkin’ Donuts will be successful because I don’t think you folks in the college support the town that well,” he said. “I hope they are, but if they are not, they will have done what has to be done to the building to make it a viable alternative even if they leave.”

Owners of the store still need to work out their hours to be in accordance with Swarthmore town rules, which bar stores from operating between the hours of 1 and 5 a.m. “That’s something we haven’t decided yet. If we have to abide by the rule, then we will just try to maximize the time we have,” Patel said. “In the beginning we will stay open as late as we are allowed to, and then we will reduce our hours or stay with the same hours depending on how business is.”

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