Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Muslim Dunkin' Donuts Owner Can Sue Over Pork, Appeals Court Says
The decision reversed an Illinois federal court judge's 2004 ruling that rejected Walid Elkhatib's argument that Dunkin' Donuts discriminated against him based on his race by making the sale of breakfast sandwiches with bacon, ham or sausage a mandatory part of his franchise agreement.
According to court papers, Elkhatib, a Palestinian Arab, has been a Dunkin' Donuts franchisee since 1979, before the company began selling any pork.
Once breakfast sandwiches were introduced in 1984, Elkhatib's Chicago-area Dunkin' Donuts outlets sold them without bacon, ham or sausage for nearly 20 years. The company did not object, even providing him with a sign that said "Meat Products Not Available."
In 2002, however, Elkhatib was told he would not be able to relocate a store or renew his franchisee agreements due to his failure to carry the full product line.
Elkhatib sued Dunkin' Donuts and its former parent company, Allied Domecq, later that year, claiming that the chain's refusal to renew his franchises constituted racial discrimination.
In an opinion Tuesday, U.S. Circuit Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner wrote that because three other Dunkin' Donuts franchisees in the area were allowed to continue operating without selling breakfast sandwiches for reasons other than the owners' religious views such as space or lease restrictions, that there was sufficient evidence to take the suit to trial...
Who cares? DD has a right to determine how its brand is used. Seems to me they were nice to let the guy do what he wanted in his current locations for as long as the franchise agreement lasted. Maybe they decided they make a lot of money off the sandwiches and don't want this guy's stores (plural, apparently) taking spaces a full-service shop under different ownership could bring in. If you have dietary restrictions, or insist on restricting other peoples' diets (as in this case), you just have to accept that there are certain roads that are closed to you. Time to change the signage, pal.
Aren't there some certified-kosher Dunkin Donuts franchises, including at least one in Brookline? Obviously these won't sell pork products.
I don't know, though it wouldn't surprise me. It's a business decision on the part of DD as to whether they want to allow that or not -- particularly if they think there's a kosher market they can appeal to there. Perhaps at some point in the future, corporate will decide they can do better by making the place (if it exists) full-service, in which case they and the franchisee will have some decisions to make.
Yes, there are certified kosher Dunkin donuts, and certified kosher Subway Sandwich shops, and MacDonalds, and some other chains.
And, certainly, Dunkin doughnuts could decide to have halal or vegan outlets if it wishes.
The point is, it would be the Corporation's decision to make. They have an image and marketing campaign to protect, and a responsibliity to shareholders to make a profit. And they may want to protect that by requiring the bacon sandwiches in all outlets, so that you know that when you see the Dunking Doughnuts sign you can get breakfast.
MacDonalds has decided to only certify kosher franchises in Israel, Their reasoning, published a the time, was that they did not want someone to ever walk into a MacDonalds in other countries and not be able to get a burger with cheese and a milkshake since that would hurt their overalll marketing strategy. (In Isreael, they have both kosher and ordinary, non-kosher macdonalds)
Subway has made the opposite decision, to allow kosher franchises in the U.S. in neighborhoods with market demand. Cleveland , Ohio has the first kosher Subway. they have announced plans for more.
BTW, I have some slight experience with these things, running a business that was a franchisee of a particular brand and having that franchise rather unceremoniously taken away after a run of...oh 40 years or so...because the corporation wanted to get into retail and felt like taking the franchise away from me. I had the privilege of climbing a ladder and scraping (literally) the logo off our sign. C'est la vie.