New England Runs on One of Dunkin’s Biggest Franchisees
If you’ve been to a few Greater Boston Dunkin’s, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve been in one of the 300 owned and operated by Mark Cafua and his business partners.
You can’t walk a few blocks in Boston without bumping into one of the Canton mega-chain’s orange-and-purple outposts. Looking past New England borders, Dunkin’s footprint is sweeping the country, and indeed, the world. Like it or not, Dunkin’ is among Boston’s most recognizable companies—and it’s growing. That means growth for a shadow class too: its franchisees, like Cafua.
Cafua Management, based out of Methuen, does about $250 million per year, according to Boston Globe Magazine. That places the company comfortably in the middle market of the American economy—not bad for a coffee shop franchisee. Like the larger chain, Cafua is also growing country-wide.
The Globe Magazine article takes a deep look into Cafua’s business operations, showing him to run a pretty tight ship. That’s complete with an intricate security system…
Sixty percent of sales at Cafua’s stores are cash, a setup ripe for employee theft. Cafua doesn’t accept that as a cost of doing business.
…closely-aligned construction companies to keep things chugging along…
On the plaza’s shared sign, there are entries for two construction and site work companies, called St. Miguel and Azores. The island of Sao Miguel in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores is the ancestral home of the Cafuas. Because the Cafuas also own these two companies, they are able to build their own stores, saving them time and money.
…and the occasional taste of ruthlessness.
Occasionally, his voracious appetite for new outlets in unusual places has gotten him into trouble. In South Portland, Maine, his purchase of a Catholic church with plans to raze it for a new shop caused a ruckus with residents that is still simmering.
That gusto carries in all directions—including upward. In June, as Boston.com reported, Cafua’s company launched a pilot plan in Boston to deliver food and coffee out of one of his Somerville stores via a delivery service. The larger Dunkin’ company has long held out on delivery, and within a day of the Cafua plan gaining media attention, it was quickly shut down by Dunkin’ Brands. By all appearances, Cafua Management never even checked on how the delivery plan would go over with Dunkin’, and the larger company wasn’t too pleased to hear about it.
The rogue operation may not have worked out then, but when you’re at the helm of a coffee empire—even one within a larger coffee empire—you get to try a few tricks here and there.
Read the full Boston Globe Magazine article here.
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