Dunkin’ is planning at least nine new locations in Ohio, expanding in a state already featured in our look at the states with the most Dunkin’ restaurants. The latest development push is concentrated around Columbus, with proposed shops in several suburbs as well as the city itself.
The new restaurants are expected to arrive in stages from late 2026 into 2027. Cincinnati-based franchise operator the Gilligan Company is driving much of the expansion, and a real estate firm working on its Central Ohio locations has identified several planned sites. Some projects have target opening months, while others are still at the site-selection or contract stage.
Where are the new Dunkin’ locations planned?
Two of the earlier openings are expected east and north of Columbus. A Dunkin’ on East Main Street near Reynoldsburg, in the Burlington East Shopping Center area, is targeting late November 2026. Another restaurant along Polaris Parkway in the Westerville area is aiming for December 2026. Neither target month guarantees a specific grand-opening day.
More projects are slated for 2027. At 1617 Holt Road in Columbus, Dunkin’ plans to take over a former White Castle building, with an opening projected for February or March. A restaurant near Winchester Pike and Gender Road in the Canal Winchester area is targeting May.
North of Columbus, plans also identify Dunkin’ at the Trailhead Crossing development near U.S. 36/37 and Sky View Lane in Delaware. Pataskala is another community on the expansion map, though a specific street address and opening date have not been announced for that proposed location.
Not every one of the nine projects has been publicly mapped. Three Gilligan Company deals were still in the contract stage when the expansion was detailed in October, without named neighborhoods or individual opening schedules. That leaves some unanswered questions for people hoping to see a shop closer to home.
Who is behind the Columbus-area expansion?
The Gilligan Company already operates a dozen Dunkin’ restaurants in the Columbus market and has at least seven more in development, according to reporting by Columbus Business First on October 7. Other reported franchise projects bring the regional pipeline to at least nine planned locations. The company’s existing restaurants are not included in that new-development count.
Gilligan has been active around Central Ohio for years, operating a broader mix of convenience stores and restaurant brands. Its president, Travis Sensabaugh, has described an ambition to add four or five Dunkin’ locations annually for the next five or six years. That is a longer-term goal, not a promise that every proposed restaurant already has a lease or construction date.
When will the new restaurants actually open?
The first reported targets fall in late November and December 2026, followed by additional openings in 2027. Exact opening days, construction updates and final street addresses for several sites are still pending. Individual projects may shift as leasing, permits and building work move forward.
For Columbus-area customers, the practical takeaway is a growing list of places to watch: Reynoldsburg and Polaris first, then Holt Road, Canal Winchester and other suburbs as the next rounds of development take shape. Dunkin’ has an ambitious Central Ohio pipeline, but the grand openings will happen one restaurant at a time.
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