Providence is about to get its 20th Dunkin', and it's landing on Thayer Street in the storefront that Aroma Joe's left behind over the summer. The coffee giant has confirmed the new location at 257 Thayer St. but has not said when it will open.
The announcement comes from a Dunkin' statement cited by the Brown Daily Herald, which reports the new shop will occupy the space previously home to Aroma Joe's. That business closed over the summer, part of a wave of departures that also saw Bagel Gourmet and Spectrum India shut their doors on the same stretch, according to a report from Turn to 10. The address sits in the heart of College Hill, a dense neighborhood near Brown University, per Union Studio Architecture & Community Design.
Students Split on Whether Thayer Needs Another Chain
Reaction among students, per the Brown Daily Herald's reporting, ranges from eager to indifferent to outright skeptical. Cindy Sun said Dunkin' is faster, cheaper and more accessible than other options around Thayer Street, and said she's familiar with the chain and expects to stop by about once a week. Ashna Muni, on the other hand, said she's excited the new Dunkin' is opening but doesn't think she'll visit very often, and said she believes the shop won't really add anything new to Thayer's offerings.
Not everyone wanted a coffee chain in the spot at all. Tatsuya King said he would have preferred a different local business fill the storefront instead of another chain coffee shop, suggesting a toy store as an alternative. Gunner Peterson said he doesn't expect to personally spend money at Dunkin' regularly, though he might use an occasional gift card there; he described Dunkin's vibe as grab-and-go, saying he prefers a nicer work environment when he's getting coffee.
Thayer's Coffee Scene Keeps Getting More Crowded
Dunkin's arrival adds to a fast-changing coffee landscape on and around Thayer Street. Blank Street is set to open its first Rhode Island location at 218 Thayer St., according to The Providence Journal, which reports the company currently runs 108 locations across the United States and United Kingdom and is targeting an opening around mid-December. That shop will fill a former Starbucks space that had sat empty since Starbucks closed there in September 2025, the newspaper notes, a vacancy also tracked by GoLocalProv, which adds that Blank Street already operates cafes in London, Edinburgh, Los Angeles, New York and Boston.
Caffè Nero has also been expanding into the neighborhood, building a new location in the former Shaking Crab storefront that is expected to mostly target college students, the Brown Daily Herald reported in an earlier story. That English chain, which operates more than 1,000 coffee shops worldwide, first arrived in Providence with a Fountain Street location near Kennedy Plaza in 2023. The same report notes that Thayer Street has seen heavy business turnover since the COVID-19 pandemic, including the closures of J Life Mart and Berk's Shoes & Clothing Store, with a business manager there describing rents as disproportionately expensive compared to other areas.
Local Cafes Say They're Not Worried About the Competition
At Caffè Nero's existing Thayer Street spot, barista Gabriel Belliard said the shop isn't worried about competition from the incoming Dunkin', describing his cafe as a traditional-style spot serving people from around the globe. A few blocks off Thayer Street, Moka and Co. manager Sami Akbar struck a similarly unbothered tone, saying more competition benefits the community by drawing in customers and letting them choose the coffee shop that works best for them.
Akbar pointed to what sets Moka and Co. apart: the shop sources its coffee beans from Yemen, uses unique brewing methods, and has a partnership with the cookie shop Feed the Cheeks. He encouraged people to try Moka and Co. for themselves and judge the shops on their own merits. Whether or not Dunkin's 20th Providence location changes many minds on Thayer, it's set to become the newest entrant in a neighborhood coffee market that's grown considerably more crowded this year.
