image description — Mayor Jennifer Macksey cut the ribbon with the Dunkin' Donuts franchise leadership.

North Adams Dunkin' Donuts Reopens with Community Donation

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
01:34PM / Thursday, December 12, 2024Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Dunkin' Donuts celebrated its reopening after undergoing a recent remodel by presenting the Al Nelson Friendship Center Food Pantry with a $3,000 donation.

"We are very thankful for Dunkin' Donuts for the very generous donation," the center's Board President Lois Daunis said Thursday morning after accepting the award. "Our numbers have increased dramatically this year; the $3,000 will go directly to the purchase of extra food."

Before the Dunkin' Donuts leadership team presented the check, Mayor Jennifer Macksey cut the ribbon marking the official reopening of the longtime Union Street location.

Vice President of Operations Dave Hoelscher said the North Adams Dunkin' Donuts had been in line for a remodel that would modernize the space to better serve its customers.

"It just has a new look. It is the goal to get all of them done across the country," he said. "This one was due. It is like a Pez Dispenser. Next one pops up, and we do it."

He said the new, more open floor plan now features digital boards for easier ordering. The doughnuts have also been moved to the front, and a new tap system has been installed.

"So rather than being at ambient temperature, if you're an ice tea drinker like I am, it comes out nice and cold already," he said. "It doesn't melt all the ice down. Same thing with iced coffee so it has a stronger bolder coffee taste."

He said the remodel also better accommodates online orders and deliveries with an organized self-service station.

"No one had delivery when we built all of these 10 to 15 years ago," Hoelscher said. "Now it is organized and you can come in and find what you ordered. There are a lot of little improvements you may not notice but they make a big difference."

The doughnut chain has operated at the corner of Union and Eagle streets since 1970, back when 52 varieties of doughnuts were made fresh and customers could sit at a diner-style counter. It had been open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for decades but in recent years switched to 4 a.m. to 7 p.m.

There were giveaways throughout the morning, and North Adams residents and passersby didn't miss a beat. Throughout the morning, a steady stream of customers passed through the building, ordering and utilizing the new amenities with ease.

Tags: Dunkin Donuts, ribbon cutting,

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Northern Berkshire United Way: Founding in the Depression Era

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:45PM / Sunday, February 01, 2026

Northern Berkshire United Way is celebrated its 90th anniversary this year. Each month, will take a look back at the agency's milestones over the decades. This first part looks at its founding in the 1930s.

Northern Berkshire United Way has scrap books dating to its founding, recording the organization's business and the work of the agencies it has funded.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — It was in the depths of the Great Depression when a group of local leaders came together to collectively raise funds to support social service agencies.

The idea wasn't new; community chests had been established by the hundreds across the country in the years following World War I. Even President Franklin Roosevelt had promoted the concept, calling on communities to pool their resources during the hard times.

North Adams had been discussing a charity fund at least since Pittsfield had established one a decade earlier.

It was late 1935 when the North Adams Chamber of Commerce finally moved forward, with some of the city's most notable businessmen leading the way.

The North Adams Community Chest wouldn't be formally organized until January 1936. Over the next 90 years, it would raise millions of dollars to support families, public health, child care, social services as the Northern Berkshire United Way.

Herbert B. Clark, inheriting the presidency of North Adams Hospital from his late father, would be the impetus to transform talk into action. One of his first actions was to inform the board of directors that the hospital would not run its annual appeal — and that it was all in with the new community chest.

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