Dunkin’ dropped “doughnuts” from its brand name years ago. Now, at least in much of Nebraska, there are no longer any donuts on the shelves.

Dunkin’ stores in Omaha, Lincoln and Grand Island had no donuts in their cases Thursday and Friday and posted signs on their doors and drive-thru kiosks informing customers that the pastry was out of stock “due to a manufacturing defect.” was not available. Some locations offered “munchkins,” or donut holes, on Friday.

Tyler Raikar of Omaha stopped by Dunkin’ in West Omaha early Friday after a night shift as a phlebotomist looking for coffee and a chocolate cake donut.

“What? No donuts!” she exclaimed when told there were none. “That’s tragic!”

The trip wasn’t a complete loss, she said, as she was more interested in the coffee. Still, she was a little disappointed that she couldn’t get a donut.

“Hopefully they’ll have them soon,” she said.

A manager at Dunkin’s West Omaha location said Friday she could not provide further information about the cause of the shortage, citing instructions from Dunkin’s corporate headquarters. The manager, who did not give her name, said the shortage was a national problem.

But checks of locations in other regions, including St. Joseph, Missouri and Boston — where Dunkin’ has a cult-like following — found no shortage of sweet treats.

Dunkin’ is one of the world’s largest coffee and donut brands, with more than 13,200 restaurants. Founded in Massachusetts in 1950, the company was purchased for $11.3 billion in 2020 by Atlanta-based private equity firm Inspire Brands, which also owns Arby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings.

Previously known as Dunkin’ Donuts, the company announced in 2018 that it would drop “donuts” from its name to focus more on coffee and other beverages that accounted for a majority of its sales.

Phone and email messages left with Dunkin’ and Inspire Brands on Friday were not immediately returned. Calls and emails to Bryce Bares, who owns several Dunkin’ franchises in Nebraska, were also not immediately returned.

Bares told the Omaha World-Herald that some Dunkin’ stores received products from suppliers that did not meet standards and that he would not deliver them to customers. He told the newspaper that delivery partners had fixed the problem and that his Nebraska locations should be offering donuts again soon.