Boston Dunkin’ Donuts Stayed Open At Police Request Friday: Frankly, Those Employees Are Heroes

Boston police prefer Dunkin’ Donuts to Starbucks any day of the week, especially Friday, April 19, 2013 when the whole city is on lockdown.

On Friday afternoon, a few Dunkin’ Donuts stores stayed open in the Boston area despite the city-wide lockdown over the pursuit of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the sole surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing this week. Dunkin’ Donuts chief communications officer Karen Raskopf said that the orders to remain open came from the city.

“At the direction of authorities, select Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the Boston area are open to take care of needs of law enforcement and first responders,” she told The Huffington Post in an email.

Of course, Boston citizens were advised to stay home and abide the lockdown, so the few Dunkin’ Donuts stores that stayed open were pretty much the only revolving doors in the city, which was described as a “ghost town” Friday afternoon.

This means that the handful of employees who went to work in Boston today while an armed and dangerous bombing suspect was God-knows-where in the city are as heroic as the police they served. If you are one of those employees, who could very realistically have been risking your life and no has thanked you yet, take it from me: You are a gul-dern hero, friend.

Literally the most Boston thing I’ve ever heard. Authorities ask Dunkin Donuts to remain open during lockdown.

— Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) April 19, 2013

Starbucks, on the other hand, closed 64 stores once the city went into lockdown-mode.

“When that lockdown went into effect, all of the stores were closed,” said Starbucks spokeswoman Jaime Riley. “It was strongly advised that partners and customers who were in the stores remain in the stores.”

What do you think of the Dunkin’ Donuts employees who went to work in Boston today? Heroes, no?

[Image via: Victorgrigas, Wikimedia Commons]