ONE2017finaledits 08-03-17

The sweet spot
Peabody firm bakes treats for area Dunkin’ Donuts
BY STACEY MARCUS
For Joe Tavares, it’s
time to make the
doughnuts.
Eighty-fourthousand
doughnuts.
The plant manager of Rantoul
Distributors in Peabody’s
Centennial Park hands me a
hairnet as my tummy starts
rumbling. I simply must resist
sticking my hand in a vat of
yummy chocolate frosting.
Tavares leads me into the
23,000-square-foot facility,
one of 97 central bakeries in
the United States for Dunkin’
Donuts, and the aroma might
make resistance impossible.
“We sell more doughnuts than
anyone else in the Northeast,”
said Tavares with pride.
Rantoul Distributors’ central
bakery provides goods for 140
Dunkin’ stores in Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, Maine and
Vermont. Tavares says the plant
operates seven days a week, 23
hours per day in three shifts. The
bounty is seven thousand dozen
doughnuts and more than 8
million Munchkins a day.
Tavares, who has been on
board since the bakery opened
in 2005, said much of the
doughnut making is automated,
except for such finishes
as glazing, frosting and
sprinkles, which are done by
hand. The company has 90
employees.
“I love to work. I love to
challenge myself and make
things better,” said Tavares,
noting that his favorite is the
honey-dipped, the company’s
best-selling doughnut.
“When we began, we were
a local operation with 10
franchisees operating roughly
50 stores,” said Bill Panzini, who
sits on the board of directors
of Rantoul Distributors with
RANTOUL
DISTRIBUTORS
BY THE #’S
7,000 dozen
doughnuts made daily
39
different types made daily
Honey-dipped
#1 seller
8,195,357
Munchkins made daily
6,500
pounds of flour used daily
PHOTOS: MARK LORENZ
Candida Rodriguez stirs strawberry glaze, as she prepares to frost
doughnuts at Rantoul Distributors. The Peabody business bakes
all the Dunkin Donuts treats.
fellow franchise owners Dinart
Serpa of Beverly, Bob Jackson
of Salem and Deo Raga of
Gloucester.
“We took our name from
Rantoul Street in Beverly, our
original intended site for the
central bakery. However, we
saw an opportunity for a preexisting
space on Centennial
Drive that could be converted
... so, as opposed to having to
build from the ground up, we
switched over to that space,”
said Panzini, a North Reading
resident. He and Serpa,
who have nearly 50 years of
combined experience at Dunkin’
Donuts franchises, direct the
operations and management
teams.
Rantoul Distributors’
transformation came in the
form of automation, said
Panzini.
“We saw an opportunity to
expand the line, which would
result in more efficient
operations. We decided to shift
the production of doughnuts
and Munchkins to the central
bakeries and focus on baking
the bagels, muffins and other
items in stores. By doing so,
we were able to continue in
the same vein and ensure that
our products were of consistent
quality,” Panzini said.
The company expanded a
couple of years ago, adding
6,700 square feet. A nearby
central bakery that provided
treats to some 40 area stores was
absorbed by Panzini and team,
bringing everything
in-house under one roof,
increasing efficiency and
production in the area.
Panzini and the other
franchise owners enjoy the
efficiency and camaraderie the
central bakery offers. “Having
the opportunity to work with
other Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees
that face the same
challenges gave us the
opportunity to cultivate real
friendships with one another.
It is a great thing to work with
people for whom you hold the
highest regard,” Panzini said.
Sweet!
15 | ONE MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2017