We all watched our Twitter feeds and Reddit live-updates as news unfolded from the horrifying scenes in Watertown. As of this post, one suspect of Monday’s bombings is dead, another one is on the loose. While the entire city is on lockdown, BuzzFeed Food reports that select Dunkin’ Donuts throughout the city remain open.
Dunkin’ Donuts released an official statement about an hour ago:
“At the direction of authorities, select Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the Boston area are open to take care of the needs of law enforcement and first responders.”
All other Boston area cafes and businesses remain closed today as the manhunt continues, including virtually all of the city’s specialty coffee bars. There’s no doubt folks would like to be open to help serve the community today, but uh, it’s probably for the best that everybody just stays home. Mass transit is suspended. Twitter users report that the streets of Boston are empty. As with pretty much every last aspect of this story, the most up-to-date information is available via Twitter.
We reached out to Jay Presto, longtime Boston-area barista and friend of this publication, via phone at his house in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood.
“It’s unfortunate, but tragedy has really brought the community together. We appreciate the support and outpouring of concern from the greater coffee community – that means a lot to us here in Boston. You can only hope that we’re gonna catch this younger guy who’s still on the loose, try him, jail him, and that he gets due process. You can only hope for that.”
