The long-awaited Dunkin’ Donuts will soft open at 5 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 17, near the corner of University Ave and Bramlett before a  grand opening on Saturday. The space was formerly occupied by The UPS Store, which moved to a space in the same shopping center earlier this year. The Oxford-Lafayette Chamber of Commerce will hold a Ribbon Cutting on Friday.

Starting at 5 a.m on Saturday., the store will give away Free Coffee for a Year to the first 200 guests!

General manager and Oxford native Kellye Blakeney explained, “we actually had students write in to Dunkin’ asking to bring Dunkin’ here to Oxford, Mississippi because a lot of students are very familiar with it. And they knew that we didn’t have a Dunkin’ and it’s more affordable to them versus Starbucks.

Dunkin’ Donuts will be open from 5 a.m to 8 p.m. seven days a week and is staffed with 46 employees.

Oxford’s Dunkin’ Donuts will have several new features.  A “coffee tap” with different kinds of coffee will keep the iced coffee refrigerated throughout the day. The taps make it easier for employees to serve and extend the shelf life. A kiosk screen in the front of the store allows people to walk in and place an order and pay. They also offer mobile ordering with pickup stations inside.

“We have a drive-thru. We don’t have a lot of space for our customers in here, but we believe it’s going to be drive-thru 90%.”

The Oxford Dunkin’ Donuts is owned by franchisee Steven Arttard who owns nearly 100  Dunkin’ Donuts in Georgia.