Flooded residents wed at beloved Dunkin’ Donuts

BY LAURA LEGERE, Times Shamrock Writer

What a cup of black coffee has joined together let no natural disaster tear apart.

AGreat Bendcouple, united by their love of Dunkin’ Donuts, was married Saturday morning at the Hallstead branch of the restaurant chain less than two months after their home and their favorite coffee spot were devastated by floods.

Roger and Elizabeth Allard exchanged vows and rings during the bustling breakfast rush in theHallsteadPlaza. Along with about 50 family members and friends, witnesses to the union included two dancing mascots dressed as a plush coffee cup and a frosted doughnut. Customers, warned of the festivities by a hand-drawn sign with rainbow hearts taped to the door, tiptoed in to buy bagels.

“They wanted the store open, operating as usual,” franchise owner Ben Vanderlinde said. “The sounds of Dunkin’ Donuts operating in the background, that was their wedding music.”

Mr. and Mrs. Allard met four years ago when the former Ms. Elizabeth Rider was working at a truck stop and Mr. Allard came in with a cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee.

They had their first date at a Dunkin’ Donuts and were engaged in July at the restaurant in Hallstead where they meet several times each day.

When flooding following Tropical Storm Lee wiped out both theirGreat Bendhome and the Hallstead Dunkin’ Donuts, the couple moved into replacement housing and began frequenting a Dunkin’ Donuts inBinghamton,N.Y.The remodeled Hallstead store reopened two weeks ago, but the Allards said they are a long way from getting back into their home.

Their unusual wedding was a light-hearted way to celebrate the community’s optimism and resilience as they all build back from the flood.

“That’s why we wanted to do it,” Mrs. Allard said.

“It made quite a lot of people smile,” Mr. Allard said. “A lot of people I don’t even know.”

After the ceremony, Mr. Allard’s nephew handed out party favors – Munchkin doughnut holes folded in painted paper boxes tied together with a bow and rings. Dunkin’ Donuts donated dozens of doughnuts, freshly made Saturday morning, to be built into a tiered wedding cake topped with two of the breakfast sweets joined together to look like wedding bands.

The restaurant also gave the couple a Keurig coffeemaker and a year’s supply of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee.

“We all recovered together,” Vanderlinde said, “and now we have the wedding to celebrate their marriage and the spirit of recovery of both the store and their home.”