Next Is Now. We Made Sure of It.

Dropping "Donuts" from your brand name after decades is not a quiet move. It's a statement about evolution, ambition, and a future that looks different from the past. And when Dunkin' gathered their franchisees in Las Vegas for their first global convention in nearly a decade, the event needed to say the same thing the rebrand did: we're not who we were, and what's coming is worth getting excited about. Czarnowski Collective was brought in as General Contractor to make that happen. 

From concept to convention: a brief that grew legs.

Over several months of planning sessions with the Dunkin' team, Czarnowski Collective developed a complete attendee journey and experience from the ground up. Branding, wayfinding, offsite activity coordination, design, fabrication, shipping, and execution across virtually every aspect of the event. If it existed at this convention, there's a solid chance we built it, moved it, or figured out how to make it work in a Las Vegas venue that was not designed with any of this in mind.

The convention's "Next is Now" theme ran through everything, from brand leadership breakout sessions to a show floor packed with culinary and digital showcases. The centerpiece: fully functional next-gen Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins pop-up stores, complete with food prep and storage areas, giving franchisees the chance to explore the new look and sample new products in a real, operational environment.

The part where it got reallllyyy interesting. (We love this part.)

Making a pop-up restaurant actually function as a restaurant is not as simple as it sounds. Especially in Las Vegas. Especially at convention scale.

Challenge one: coffee. Dunkin' was debuting cold brew, lattes, and espresso as part of their new menu, but the venue's water pH levels weren't up to the standard required to pull quality espresso at scale. Solution: we brought in a custom water filtration system capable of supporting 30 coffee machines simultaneously. The convention ran on Dunkin'. We made sure the water was worthy of the job.

Challenge two: 25,000 pounds of food. Vendors shipped product a full week before the show, which meant we needed cold storage — in the desert — capable of not just refrigerating food but freezing ice cream at -20 degrees. We found it, arranged transportation to the venue, and built out three fully operational working kitchens and prep areas stocked with 26 refrigerators, 40 freezers, 150 stainless steel prep tables, 800 baking sheets, and a small army of blenders, microwaves, and utensils.

After the convention wrapped, we coordinated the donation of four 53-foot trucks worth of leftover food. 

The pool party. Oh, the pool party.

Beyond the convention floor itself, Public School, Creative Studio orchestrated what can only be described as a quintessentially Las Vegas evening: the Dunkin' Pool Party. Stilt walkers, celebrity impersonators, drag queens, ambient dancers, contortionists, and Cuban cigar rollers,  all in service of a brand that wanted its franchisees to feel the energy of a new era, not just hear about it in a breakout session.

The atmosphere was electric. The entertainment was eclectic. The message was unmistakable: Dunkin' is having a moment, and you're invited.