Grafton Library Apologizes After 'Lighthearted' Dunkin' Joke

GRAFTON, MA — The Grafton Public Library has issued an apology to the owners — and customers — of the town's Dunkin' after implying that local teens enjoy hanging out at the library more than the chain coffee shop.

On Dec. 1, the library posted a message directed at parents of Grafton Middle School students. The post was a reminder to parents that teens need to adhere to the library's mask policy. The post also highlighted the library's many amenities for young people, like the gaming room.

"Hey, Grafton Middle parents: GPL has become the new hang-out spot in town for your teens. (Take that, Dunkin’)," the post said.

But a few local residents did not take that as a joke. In now-deleted comments captured by the editor of the Grafton Common news site, a few residents took offense.

"I think it is very inappropriate that our town library would make such a comment about a locally owned business on a public post," one person wrote, adding that the local Dunkin' owners are residents.

"Perhaps you should talk to the owners before you make a public dig like this to make sure you understand the situation," the person continued.

Grafton's sole Dunkin' is located about a mile north of the library along Route 122. Owners Brian and Julia Marino are big donors to Grafton police. They have hosted coffee-with-a-cop sessions, and have donated thousands to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program and National Night Out block parties, according to the department.

On Tuesday, the library posted a full apology to Marino's Dunkin' location.

"The remark was intended as a self-deprecating and light-hearted joke and was not meant to be malicious in any way," the post said. "We should have exercised better judgment before making the post and apologize for any pain our remark caused. We hold our local Dunkin’ and its staff in high esteem and value them as a partner in our community."