CANTON, Mass. – The Associated Press reports that Dunkin' Brands CEO Nigel Travis believes the chain’s fried chicken and grilled cheese sandwiches should be considered a snack, not a full lunch.

"We're not moving into lunch. We're in snacking. We never talk about lunch," Travis told the news source, adding that Dunkin’ is focusing more on breakfast and snacking opportunities, a strategy that reflects how people — or “grazers” — are eating more smaller meals throughout the day instead of adhering to just breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The AP writes that a Dunkin’ restaurant typically conducts most of its business before 11 am. In 2012, the company added “deli-like sandwiches,” each running between 500 and 700 calories, to attract more customers.

However, not everyone considers Dunkin’s sandwiches to fall under a snack food definition.

Lauri Boone, a registered dietitian, told the AP that a snack should be thought of as a "small, satisfying portion of food that can help curb hunger or a craving between meals." Examples she offered included a handful of nuts or trail mix, a piece of fruit or a small cup of yogurt. When asked whether a 500-calorie sandwich could be a snack, she said no.

“That is a meal,” she told the AP, adding, “I can't think of a good example where I would recommend a 500-calorie snack.”

Also this week, Dunkin' Donuts announced that the company has filed for permits to open its first traditional restaurants in California in Downey, Long Beach, Modesto, Santa Monica and Whittier. Specific locations and anticipated opening dates will be announced later this summer, with construction scheduled to begin later in June, months ahead of schedule.

Since opening California for franchise development in 2013, Dunkin' Donuts has executed store development agreements for nearly 200 new restaurants to date. The company believes it can eventually have as many as 1,000 restaurants throughout the state. The company has already opened three non-traditional Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in California, including a recent Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin-Robbins combination location inside the Embassy Suites San Diego Bay Downtown Hotel.

Franchise opportunities for Dunkin' Donuts still remain throughout California in Fresno, Bakersfield and Santa Barbara, Northern California and portions of Southern California.