Dunkin’ gets a drive-thru

A Dunkin’ drive-thru restaurant is set to be built along Red Bug Lake Road just south of Winter Springs after the Seminole County Commission granted a zoning change to a 50-acre development Tuesday. 

The former Insight Bank location at the southeast corner of the plaza anchored by a Walmart Neighborhood Market is expected to be transformed into a Dunkin’ location owned by one of the largest private family-owned businesses in America, according to Forbes Magazine. 

HZ O Donuts LLC, the Sugarland, Texas-based company owned by the Dhanani Group, will operate the restaurant. The county approved two amendments to allow it, sought by the applicant to be able to set up shop on .51 acres of land on the northeast corner of the intersection of Red Bug Lake Road and Dodd Road. 

“Restaurants are permitted, however drive-thru restaurants are not permitted under the existing entitlements,” Seminole County senior planner Kaitlyn Apgar said. That would make the Dunkin’ location the odd-man-out in the larger plaza, which is home to a slew of restaurants, all of them sit-down style, including Agave Azul Winter Springs, Hokkaido Sushi & Teppan and more. 

The other rule exception that the developer sought was to allow the restaurant, which otherwise would be limited to operating between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m., to open at 5 a.m. 

Both were approved by the county’s Planning and Zoning Board in March, and recommended for approval Tuesday afternoon when the zoning amendment came before the Commission. A community meeting had been held on Dec. 4, 2024, to talk about the project. Of note in the meeting documentation: “No one attended the meeting.” 

The development is expected to serve 116 vehicles per hour during the morning peak. Commissioners at the Tuesday meeting offered no objections to applicant Brian Forster from engineering firm LandDesign, save one. 

“Despite the fact that Mr. Forster did not bring any doughnuts, I will move approval,” Commissioner Lee Constantine said. The zoning change passed unanimously. 

Want to contact your elected leaders and weigh in on this topic? Find their contact information here. Have a news tip or opinion to share with OCN? Do that here.