America now runs on 10,000 Dunkin’ locations.

The Canton-based company recently passed the 10K mark when it opened a new store near Chicago. Only a handful of US restaurant brands have 10,000 or more US locations: McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Subway.

“As we look forward to the next 10,000 restaurants, the momentum behind this brand has never been stronger,” Scott Murphy, Dunkin’s president, said. “It feels good to be Dunkin’.”

And well it should. What started as a small Quincy coffee and doughnut shop became a global empire with locations in nearly 40 countries.

The coffee shop that would become the first Dunkin’ was opened in Quincy in 1948 by entrepreneur Bill Rosenberg under the name Open Kettle. While it is unclear exactly why Rosenberg adopted the name Dunkin’ Donuts two years later, company lore says an executive on his team was inspired by the idea of dunking doughnuts in coffee.

Five years after that, the first franchise location opened in Worcester. Franchise business models mean stores are run by independent business owners who get approved to use the brand’s name, marketing material, supplies, and equipment.

Dunkin’ Donuts opened its 100th store in 1963, around when Rosenberg’s son, Bob, took the helm of the company.

Since then, the brand has exploded into a billion-dollar franchise. It was acquired by British food company Allied-Lyons (which also owned the Baskin-Robbins ice cream company) in 1990. Under the new management, it added bagels, sandwiches, and more coffee options to its menu.

After a merger, Allied-Lyons became Allied Domecq, which in 2006 sold Dunkin’ to a consortium of private equity firms, including the Boston firms Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners, and the Carlyle Group of Washington. Under private equity ownership, Dunkin, which was concentrated in New England and the Northeast, expanded its national footprint and adopted the slogan “America Runs on Dunkin’.”

The private equity owners took Dunkin’ public in 2011.

Eight years later, Dunkin’ dropped the “Donuts” from its name to focus on the brand’s beverage selection. Then, Dunkin’ Brands was acquired by Inspire Brands for $11.3 billion in 2020, which took Dunkin’ private and placed it alongside a portfolio of fast-food chains such as Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Jimmy John’s.

The original Quincy location — once the Open Kettle — still stands with orange and purple barstools and a 1950s-esque sign that stays true to the chain’s roots and proclaims, “Dunkin’ Donuts.”

Yogev Toby can be reached at [email protected].