Dunkin’ franchisee dedicated to helping employees, community

Sometimes Holly Roever Carron makes the doughnuts. Most of the time, though, she makes the doughnut business work.

The Moosic resident is the force behind several Dunkin’ franchises in and around Scranton, continuing a family business her parents, Henry and Paula Roever, started in 1980. They set a strong example of hard work — her mom was a registered nurse and her dad a funeral director who raised three kids while running their company — that Carron continues today.

Raised in Dunmore, Carron grew up in the family business, which started as a Mister Donut franchise before transitioning to Dunkin’ in 1990. She traveled with her parents a lot and started working for the company at 13, and she sought a career in business after graduating from Scranton Preparatory School. Carron went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in marketing and international business from Penn State University in 1998.

But Carron didn’t expect come back to the family business as an adult, instead hitting the road. She landed a job with telecommunications company MCI, working first in Northern Virginia and then St. Louis, where she met her husband, Eric.

“It was good for me,” she said of experiencing the wider, corporate world. “It showed me there were other ways to run a business. I just learned a lot how it was to have people rely on you.”

Eventually, though, Carron worried about getting laid off and felt the pull of family. She moved back to Northeast Pennsylvania and took her place in her parent’s company in 2001.

Her mother has since retired, and while her dad still comes by, Carron now serves as president of H.W. Roever Inc. and handles the business from “top to bottom.” She has help from her husband, who she said had to “learn everything” about working in a family business after a career in telecommunications, and their 16-year-old son, Benjamin, who’s already learning the Dunkin’ ropes. Carron takes care of everything from training new employees, human resources and corporate relations to new store openings and development — and she even steps in when a franchise needs to fill a shift on the fly.

“I can do every job in every store,” Carron said.

Since returning to NEPA, Carron has watched the business grow and transform. The family added five franchises to bring its total to eight and has renovated properties as Dunkin’s overall look and offerings have changed through the years.

“It’s a challenge to start (a franchise) from the ground up, but it’s exciting,” Carron said.

She held onto the reins during the pandemic — what she described as a “horrific” time — as the eateries closed and then reopened with safety at the forefront. They adapted as more customers used the drive-through, and with more people working from home, their busy time shifted from morning to later in the day, and their orders went from feeding individuals to feeding whole families.

“We had to be quick on our feet. … The business changed completely,” Carron said.

Keeping a longtime family business successful and helping it grow can be challenging, but Carron said the challenges also make it fun.

“It’s a legacy,” she said. “My parents worked really hard to provide everything for us. … I want to make them proud.”

Although her son plans to become a doctor, he still helps out for now, even working alongside his mom at times. She joked that she’s probably harder on him than any of her employees.

“He is a very good worker,” she said. “I am very proud of him on a daily basis.”

Carron takes pride in knowing each of her employees by name. She feels they have a sense of family, even in tough times, like when her franchise on Moosic Street in Scranton was robbed several years ago.

“The hardest thing is seeing employees go through struggles,” Carron said. “We’re a family. … I know how to do the job, so I understand what they’re going through, and I try to be sympathetic.”

That caring feeling extends to the wider community, too. In addition to serving on the ad committee for Northeast and Central Pennsylvania Dunkin’, Carron recently was named treasurer of Northeast Regional Cancer Institute’s board of directors.

“I want to give back to my community,” she said. “I want to use my talents to help them. I just want to be involved.”

For the last six years, she also has helped St. Joseph’s Center and serves on its board of directors and as a committee chairwoman.

“I have a love in my heart for St. Joseph’s Center,” Carron said.

Carron described herself as open, honest and up for a challenge — someone who loves and believes in her family and community. She loves seeing returning customers when she works in her stores as well as teaching and training her workers. They make life a joy.

“I’ve always enjoyed (my job),” she said. “I like it every single day.”