What's right with this picture?

■"Fewer Doughnuts, More Dunkin: Beverages Increasingly Drive Chain's Sales; Franchises Team Up to Build Off-Site Bakeries," by Dina ElBoghdady, Washington Post, 8 June 2005, p. D1.

I know, I know. Living in RI all these years and blogging well over a year and I've not written anything about what is arguably the corporate image that defines little Rhody: Dunkin' Doughnuts.

Well, now that I'm on my way out the door, let me correct that oversight.

First, I will say that Dunkin' Doughnuts areówithout argumentóthe worst doughnuts on the planet. Even more amazing to me, the other half of their claim (dunking part) is equally badóthe coffee (amazingly junked up beyond all ability to actually taste the coffee).

But Rhodies love 'em. We have three, I believe, on the island and they all do big business. Simply put, crap sells here.

Now that I have that off my chest, let me cite the real reason why I blog this piece: the picture of the 8 franchise owners who have formed a production alliance. The interesting thing about this picture, taken as it was in Northern VA, is that all of the owners are clearly Indian: four Patel's (who apparently own doughnut stores now in addition to their vast holdings in motels; no kidding, check it out next time you check in!), one Javia, and three Bhalani's. Far more amazing: only one has a gut of any heft.

Of course, the archetype of the Indian who owns the franchise is the character on "The Simpsons" who owns a 7/11-like store. But Indians, when they're not being docs or working for Microsoft, are hustling entrepreneurs who work a day longer than I can stay awake (Friedman likes to call it the "35-hour work day" that Indians naturally aspire toward).

I remember a Post of a while back talking about how DC-area Indians in the IT sector were banding together to form a Political Action Committee to pool their growing political weight. Judging by this picture, a doughnut PAC would probably feature a lot of Indians as well.

Of course, the story starts with a bit about a Rhode Island native who remembers pressing his nose to the glass of his local DD as a kid. He now owns several in the DC-area. His name is Andy Cabral, and I'm betting he's Portuguese. We have both types of people in Rhode Island: Irish and Portuguese. So it's an easy call on my part.

Elsewhere, though, the melting pot clearly has a wider array of inputs.