Ryan McDougal, 20, enjoys going to Mustang Donuts on Hillcrest Ave. near SMU every couple of weeks. His favorite type of doughnut is the signature glazed. Each day the store posts a new trivia question behind the counter. A correct answer by a customer guarantees a free glazed doughnut. Each time McDougal, a student at Richland College, frequents the neighborhood shop, he checks the trivia question to see if he knows the answer.

“I have gotten the trivia question right one time,” McDougal said.

Soon, McDougal will have more options to feed his doughnut cravings. Less than .2 miles away, a new doughnut store has opened this holiday season. Dunkin’ Donuts opened the day after Thanksgiving, where Ball’s Hamburgers resided for the past twenty years. Within the last couple months, Ball’s Hamburgers moved its valuable variety of sports memorabilia out, and Dunkin’ Donuts moved its electronic cash registers and “D-handled” doors in.

The well-known brand of Dunkin’ Donuts isn’t as prevalent on this side of the United States as some people may think. Before brand new expansion plans, there were less than 50 stores west of the Mississippi River while there were almost 6,000 on the east side of the river.

Leading the way in the Texas expansion is owner of the $75 million company Culinaire, Richard Gussoni.

“I selected Dunkin’ because of their 60-year history in the northeast and their fabulous coffee,” Gussoni said. “It’s the coffee that allows us to offer an alternative to Starbucks and McDonald’s. Coffee consumption continues to grow, and we strive to reach as high a coffee ratio to Donuts. In emerging markets donuts start off very high in sales and overtime shifts to higher beverage sales.”

He plans to open 20 new stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth area this year, and an additional 20 in 2010. All of these add up to 160 new stores to open by 2015.

Gussoni selected areas in Texas because of the “numerous northeastern transplants that would be familiar with the brand.”

With a new doughnut store so close, will places like Mustang Donuts lose some of their customers?

Dena F., the executive food and wine editor and restaurant critic for DenaDinesDallas.com, blogs on the social networking site Yelp! Dena was born and raised in Dallas and graduated from the University of North Texas.

“When Dunkin’ Freaking Donuts opens…I will still be going to Mustang Donuts. As a matter of fact, I’m gonna find out the opening day [of Dunkin’], and I say we ALL park in front of [it] and walk over to Mustangs!” she wrote in a recent post.

In a recent survey of SMU students, 38 percent of people agreed that Mustang Donuts is their favorite doughnut shop. Krispy Kreme, which resides on the other side of the freeway, came in second place with 30 percent and 18 percent of those surveyed selecting Dunkin’ Donuts.

A select few Mustang Donut fans might be willing to go to Dunkin’ Donuts.

Jaclyn Beatty, 20, is double majoring in biology and psychology and enjoys a nice cup of coffee.

Even “though Dunkin’ Donuts is a bit out of the way (and is a large chain rather than Mustang’s Ma & Pop ownership), I may consider Dunkin’ to try a cup of their coffee. It’s cheaper than Starbucks, but probably a step up from Mustang,” Beatty said.

Highland Park High School 2006 graduate Eva Albanesi, 21, an elementary education major at the University of Texas, can’t wait to come home for winter break.

“I will continue to eat at Mustang’s because it tastes delicious, and they’ve been great to the community for so many years,” Albanesi said.

Albanesi’s high school classmate Matt Mosca, 20, currently attending the University of Denver, agrees with her perspective.

“For me, to go to Dunkin’ Donuts would be backstabbing Mustangs. It’s not about the doughnuts, it’s about the memories and times I spent in there as a kid,” Mosca said.

Aeshin Attanecci of Mustang Donuts has seen young adults like Mosca and Albanesi make their way through middle school and high school. She hopes that these customers influence others to stay with their mom-and-pop shop.

“I have such loyal customers. They come in and they talk about the doughnut shop and say ‘You’ve Got My Business. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ They are all so sweet,” Attanecci said.

According to the survey of SMU students, 53 percent of respondents say they will not go to the new Dunkin’ Donuts. Only time will tell if Dunkin’ Donuts will attract enough loyal customers to be deemed the coveted “Best Doughnut in Town” by the Dallas Observer.

“I don’t think they’ll take that much business from us because…I think they are using a different kind of donuts than we do…[and] since ours are made from scratch every morning, their quality cannot compete with us,” Attanecci went on to say.