According to Wikipedia, there are 5,541 Dunkin’ Donuts in the United States. Approximately half of these are in Manchester.

Okay, so there are “only” 26 Dunkin’ Donuts in Manchester, but one could be forgiven for thinking that ours is a company town operated by and for the Dunkin’ behemoth – which is, seemingly, everywhere:

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Not that I have anything against Dunkin’ Donuts. Their coffee might not be the most outstanding I’ve ever had, but it is reliably decent, and in my book that goes a long way. Still, for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on, I’m somewhat bothered every time I see a new Dunkin’ opening up here in the Queen City — something that seems to happen on a monthly basis, be it a free standing store or inside unrelated businesses like gas stations, hospitals (though I do love the irony) and the airport.

Actually, it kind of makes sense at the airport. If you have any doubt about this, go observe the pre-security Dunkin’ at Manchester Boston Regional Airport sometime, but especially right after a flight lands. You will see a fair number of travelers make a bee line to the Dunkin’ counter before heading down to the baggage carousel or even hugging their loved ones. Sometimes it’s a mob scene.

But what about those poor souls who have to fly out of Manchester? Sure, they could get their fix before going through security, but with the TSA’s liquid rule, they sure couldn’t take their coffee with them to their gates, much less on their flights. Alas, they (we) would have to settle for Starbucks or, Heaven forbid, McDonald’s coffee.

It would appear, however, that the Dunkin’ powers-that-be recognized this problem as they recently opened a second Dunkin’ location inside the airport, this time post security, but still mere feet (as the crow flies) from the pre-security location.

This begs the question: how much Dunkin’ is too much Dunkin’? Is there such a thing? My concerns regarding an overexpansion of Dunkin’ Donuts in Manchester notwithstanding, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a Dunkin’ Donuts in the city that happened to be empty, so maybe the demand is there to justify saturating the Manchester market. I don’t know.

That said, those considering opening a Dunkin’ franchise anywhere in the Granite State are informed by the company’s website that the New Hampshire “market [is] reserved for expansion by existing Dunkin' Donuts Franchisees. New franchisees are not being accepted at this time. Please select another market opportunity.”