“The Heartland Restaurant Group that represents Dunkin’ is currently in their due diligence phase, which is 120 days and will end on January 14,” said Listing Broker Andy Montana. “If they decide to purchase or not, it will be after that date.”

Heartland Restaurant Group is the regional franchisee of over 48 Dunkin’ restaurants in the region.

“They (Heartland) seem to think it will be fine,” said Montana. “They own other restaurants and have gone through this. I think it will be good for traffic on Main Street and we need traffic on Main Street.”

The due diligence phase includes investigating approvals that may be required for the project. Since Heartland anticipates demolishing the current building, approval will probably be needed from the Clarion County Planning Commission and PennDOT for approval for ingress and egress on Main Street because it is a state road. Clarion Borough would also likely be involved relative to ingress and egress and how many parking meters would potentially be removed from Main Street.

The former CVS building located at 639 Main Street has been vacant since the company moved across the street to its new location in 2017.

“The Heartland Restaurant Group is the franchisee group that has brought the resurgence of Dunkin’ to the greater Pittsburgh area,” according to Heartland’s web page. “The development of our people and support within our local communities continues to play an essential role within our growing organization.”

Founded in 1950, Dunkin’ sells a variety of food items, including various baked goods such as donuts and cookies, coffee, and other drinks. The company has over 12,600 restaurants in 40 countries worldwide. The brand announced in September 2018 that it would shorten its name from Dunkin’ Donuts to Dunkin’ as part of a push to become the world’s “premier beverage-led, on-the-go brand.” Dunkin’ is part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants.