While the grand opening is scheduled for January 8th the high tech new concept store located at 5901 Far Hills Ave is doing a soft opening this week. The spot most recently housed Clark’s Pharmacy and before that was a Wendy’s restaurant. I stopped in at the new Dunkin’ today and was greeted by a painter, still doing some last minute touch ups on the newly renovated building.

Tuesday’s Grand Opening Celebration will run from 7-11am and will include gift card giveaways , the Dunkin’ pink carpet, the official ribbon cutting at 10am, photo opportunities with the Dunkin’ mascot and a chance to spin the prize wheel for sweet giveaways.

The 2,000 square foot space in Washington Township is the first new concept store in the Dayton market and just the 3rd in Ohio. With a crisp, clean look, gone is the plastic pink and orange decor of the old shops. Speaking of gone, so to is the “Donuts” part of the business name. Moving forward with just the “Dunkin” moniker, they will keep the familiar “DD” as still part of their company branding.

Inside a very friendly staff were proud to show off all the new equipment and innovations in the shop run by General Manager Gaston Herding, The highlight of which is the new innovative tap system allows them to consistently serve eight cold beverages such as coffees, iced teas, cold brew coffee and nitro infused cold brew coffee.

Josh(pictured right) talked me into sampling the Nitro Cold Brew with an added pump of Thin Mint flavoring and I have to admit as a now coffee drinker, I could see myself getting used to this little sweet caffeine buzz. One of the other great things about Dunkin’ is they serve their breakfast sandwiches all day long! No having to race the clock to make the cutoff time for breakfast like at some other fast food joints!

They showed off the new soft heat brewers, which they explained do a better job of keep the coffee at exactly the right temperature, which allows them to offer a fresh product more consistently. Something else they shared is that the new concept stores small coffee will now be 12 oz, vs the 10 oz that is served up at all the other locations. Each cup of coffee is now labeled when you order, which should help with accuracy on orders, especially when they are busy. All furniture is also moveable, so it’s easy to pull together seating for a coffee meeting. And staying with the high-tech concept, there is even a high top wireless charging table for your phones.

One of the other big changes is the chain’s double drive-thru, with one lane dedicated exclusively for mobile ordering, allowing customers who order ahead via the company’s mobile app to go straight thru the order ahead lane for quick pick up. The second lane is the traditional drive-thru, where you’ll order via a speaker.

Two large glass containers showcase the donuts and there is also an expanded grab and go section, allowing you to grab a drink or some coffee beans to go. You can pick up a box of Jo-to-Go for just $14.99, which holds a gallon of coffee, which is about 10 cups. I also found out that there is a Dunkin’ happy hour, from 2-6pm each day, where you can pick up a medium cappuccino or latte for just $2. Dunkin’ also offers a 20% military discount and a 10% senior citizen discount on all orders.