Long lines in Walnut Creek as Dunkin' Donuts returns to Bay Area for first time in 15 years

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KGO) -- How long would you stand in line for donuts? Would it make a difference to you if it's the first time you can get these donuts here since the 1990s? Wait till you see what people did in Walnut Creek Wednesday morning at the opening of Dunkin' Donuts, the first one in the Bay Area in 15 years.

They knew a lot of people would show up Wednesday morning for the Dunkin' Donuts grand opening in Walnut Creek, but didn't expect this.

"We knew there was a lot of pent up demand," said owner Matt Cobo. "A lot of East Coast transplants who grew up on Dunkin', the coffee and donuts. But this blew my expectations."

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The first person got there at 2 a.m. for a 5 a.m. opening. She thought there would be a crowd, but was happy to be first.

"I was really kind of excited and a little embarrassed for myself that I was excited because it's donuts," said Walnut Creek resident Ginger Cooper with a laugh.

She turned out to be the smartest customer of all because as the morning went on, the line grew.

"It's more nostalgia," said Walnut Creek resident Isabel Wong. "When I bring my kids back east they're always like, 'Can we go to Dunkin' Donuts?' So when I heard it was right in our backyard we had to come."

We decided to track a customer's wait starting at 7 a.m. Annette Lance said she expected the wait to be about an hour and that's how long she was willing to wait.

To handle the crowds, the owner scheduled six bakers for the morning. And they could barely keep up with the demand. He thought maybe he would sell 1,000 or 2,000 donuts Wednesday morning. He was off.

"Five thousand two hundred and forty donuts, and it's 8:49 a.m.!" he said.

Customers didn't seem deterred by the line and were happy when they finally got their donut, telling us it was worth the wait. And it was a long one.

Check out our timer when Annette Lance got to the counter - one hour and four minutes.

"It's okay," she said. "And honestly, if people knew what they wanted it would go a little faster. So I think as time goes by it will be fine."

By 11:30 a.m., the owner said he'd sold 8,200 donuts. He thought he was going to sell 10,000 all day.

The most popular donut sold was the Boston Kreme, which made up about of their sales.