They never focused on the expats as their nationwide numbers are too low (despite in recent years it appears more people became expats in the DR than ever.)
- Thread starter MiamiDRGuy
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New: Taco Bell
Avoiding places with Starbucks, evidently. I was aware they exist in the DR.
My responses were about a potential for Starbucks in Puerto Plata that I responded about, not other locations in the DR.
This thread is about a new Taco Bell in Puerto Plata and someone wished for a Starbucks there. I avoid Starbucks like the plague they are.
I wouldn't be surprised if KFC come to Puerto Plata soon, but maybe they will go into the new plaza at Jumbo as opposed to where the Taco Bell and Wendy's are. I have not been to Siblings Food Park for some time (just up the road close to the courthouse) but I think that they have been suffering a lot over the last year and with these fast food chains coming here I see the demise of Siblings.
And I have no problem with a Starbucks never coming near where I live. I would like a Trader Joe's.
Some might recall I did mention a liking for going to Taco Bell on occasion. Now that is closer than ever.
As for Dominos in the Sirena parking lot, I vaguely recall that. I thought it was some Dominican business just using the name.
The Dominoes I have had in the DR (Santo Trafficjam) was worse than Pizza Hut or Pizzarelli. No need to see one of those near me.
And the majority of franchisees wont think of it, either. Remember, they work hard to meet their quotas from corporate.
Come one, Cabarete...... I like Cabarete, but you can't compar Cabarete or Sosua to Puerto Plata. Puerto Plata is a city; Cabarete and Sosua are not. I understand that a lot of expats here on DR1 live in Sosua or Cabarete and like it, but asking why big fast food companies are not going there is like asking why they don"t go to Imbert or Riu San Juan.....
Not Cabarete, but I think Sosua is big enough to support one, especially when you include Cabarete.
I doubt it, too, but I think a Taco Bell would work best. TB has menu items that are cheaper than the other chains and would be affordable for many Dominicans, also.
Not even Subway took Sosúa/Cabarete into account.
Of all the tourists areas, the one that gets the most international and national chains of anything is Bávaro/Punta Cana and, for the most part, they aren’t taking into consideration the expats there but rather the Dominicans. Jumbo, Olé, Nacional, Unidos, Iberia, Burger King, etc aren’t there mainly for non-Spanish speaking people. To say it another way, with them being there would had been based on the expats there, none of these companies would be there.
It isn’t required to say the following since this is obvious, but no foreign franchise functions without Dominicans being most of the people in the top positions regarding their DR divisions. It goes without saying the same is true with Dominican based companies.
You see Wendy’s and might think “an American franchise…” In a sense yes, but almost everyone on top for Wendy’s DR are Dominicans. In the DR Wendy’s is synonymous with Rainieri, not the American owners of the brand in the USA. Similar with Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Popeyes, etc.
You see Wendy’s and might think “an American franchise…” In a sense yes, but almost everyone on top for Wendy’s DR are Dominicans. In the DR Wendy’s is synonymous with Rainieri, not the American owners of the brand in the USA. Similar with Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Popeyes, etc.
A lot of people don’t know that and this is about one country, the DR as has been said by many expats in DR1 many times a Dominican mentions another country to show something isn’t limited to happening in the DR.
The psychological need many expats in this forum have to “prove” to themselves a Dominican doesn’t know something but the expats do when in fact you know it seems to have no bounds that a contradiction is done whenever the opportunity arises.
Not necessarily true. Some of these chains locate themselves in very high tourists' areas, hoping for their business, you know a "taste from home". It will be interesting to see their menu at Taco Bell, or a report from someone who ate there.
Hence why we can find them in airports, sometimes even after going through security like at Punta Cana airport.
True, not always, but it's a rare spot in another country where there are enough expats that any of these chains can justify opening a restaurant just based on the number of expats.