'It's A Sad Day': Dunkin' Fans Devastated After Chain Eliminates Beloved Menu Item The beverage originally hit menus in the year 2000 as a seasonal item.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
America may run on Dunkin' but it looks like loyalists of the coffee chain will no longer be running on one of their favorite drinks anymore.
The company announced on Thursday that it would be discontinuing the beloved Dunkaccino, a hot version hybrid of coffee and hot chocolate that's become a cult favorite since its debut in 2000. Dunkin' also used to sell a frozen version of the beverage but retired that one in 2015.
"As we focus on innovation and finding new ways to delight guests, we continually evolve our menu in an effort to deliver a fast, frictionless experience," Dunkin' told USA TODAY in a statement. "The Dunkaccino is retired for now, but there's always the chance for its return in the future."
The news had been brewing for quite some time after a photo from an employee leaked on a Dunkin' subreddit page showing that the Dunkaccino made it to a list of items that were set for eventual elimination back in February 2022.
Related: West Coast, Get Ready — Dunkin' Is Coming, and It's Bringing 'Insta-Ready' Gen Z Drinks With It
The notion upset one Reddit user so much that they toyed with the idea of visiting a local store to buy the Dunkaccino machine so that they could continue making the sweet treat at home themselves.
If Dunkaccino is going away, what happens to the machines?
by u/JTex-WSP in DunkinDonuts
"Dunkaccino is just something I've ordered almost exclusively for the last 20 years," the user pleaded. "It's basically the only 'coffee' that I consistently like, probably since it's made by a machine so it's always the same. I've even had the experience where the machine is broken, so some poor employee tries to 'recreate' a Dunkaccino by mixing stuff together and it just fails to capture that same semblance."
Others on Twitter were equally as devastated about the fall of the beverage.
no one told me the dunkaccino was real and now it's gone https://t.co/TomUR9XNKP pic.twitter.com/c2UsiKTiRW
— scott (@mrfunkykon) March 15, 2023
Can't stop thinking about them euthanizing dunkaccino
— jaina @ comms open (4/5 slots) (@pazortegandrade) March 17, 2023
We're losing the Dunkaccino AND the Quesarito, we have failed as a society.
— Voltic.EXE (@VolticEXE) March 15, 2023
it's a sad day for Dunkaccino fans everywhere
— Matt (@SporkSpiegel) March 17, 2023
According to Drinkstack, the Dunkaccino originally began as a seasonal item but was soon moved to become a permanent menu fixture.
It originally gained popularity during an advertisement starring Al Pacino in order to promote his movie "Jack and Jill" where the actor pronounces his new name "Dunk Pacino," thus giving birth to the name of the new beverage.
The end of an era, indeed.
