Is Tim Hortons, the famed Canadian coffee chain, coming back to South Florida?

Howard Cohen
·4 min read

Is Tim Hortons, the famed Canadian coffee chain, coming back to South Florida?

Hollywood’s mayor, the Consulate General of Canada in Miami, business group Enterprise Florida, and the chain itself all point to that happening.

“We are excited for our recent expansion into new markets in the U.S. and are prioritizing growth in the South Florida market,” Ryan Ferranti, head of business development for Tim Hortons, US, told the Miami Herald in an email. “While we are targeting growth in multiple territories within the state of Florida, Miami-Dade and Broward counties are of particular interest given the significant Canadian presence and tourism in South Florida.”

The coffee talk went beyond idle chatter in mid-March when Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy shared a March 15 Facebook post from the Consulate General of Canada in Miami and Enterprise Florida that recounted how its officials had met with the Tim Hortons group to discuss expanding into the state.

Excited in Hollywood

From the mayor: “Lots of people are excited about the idea of Tim Hortons coming to South Florida. We would certainly love to have the beloved coffee and donut chain open a restaurant in the City of Hollywood. Our city has been a popular destination for Canadian snowbirds and having a Tim Hortons here would certainly make them feel even more at home,” Levy told the Miami Herald in an email Wednesday.

From the Consulate: Natalija Marjanovic, consul and head of political, economic and public affairs for the Consulate General of Canada in Miami, referred questions about the possible expansion to Restaurant Brands International (RBI), the Toronto-based parent company of Tim Hortons, Firehouse Subs, and also Burger King and Popeyes, both of which maintain headquarters in Miami.

From the company: Ferranti said there is no timeline set for the expansion plans but RBI has “identified strong trade areas within the market that we would look to develop our Tim Hortons restaurants.” These potential Tim Hortons would primarily be free-standing drive-thru locations, with some drive-thru-only and other formats, he said.

Tim Hortons history

This was the first Tim Hortons opened in Hamilton, Ontario, by Canadian hockey star Tim Horton and his business partner Jim Charade. The chain was originally Tim Horton Do-Nut and over the years was known as Tim Horton’s Donuts, then simply Tim Hortons without the apostrophe. Loyal customers call it Timmies.
This was the first Tim Hortons opened in Hamilton, Ontario, by Canadian hockey star Tim Horton and his business partner Jim Charade. The chain was originally Tim Horton Do-Nut and over the years was known as Tim Horton’s Donuts, then simply Tim Hortons without the apostrophe. Loyal customers call it Timmies.

Founding: The chain was founded in 1964 by Toronto Maple Leaf defenseman Tim Horton and business partner Jim Charade in Hamilton, Ontario, as Tim Horton Do-nut, according to Insurdinary.

Menu and branding: Over the years the chain — which serves coffee, donuts, donut nuggets called Timbits, sandwiches, wraps and chicken strips — tinkered with its branding, adding and then losing an apostrophe, as well as the “Donuts” in its name.

Locations: Loyal customers are known to call Tim Hortons by its nicknames — Timmie’s or Tim’s. Timmie’s is Canada’s largest quick-service restaurant chain, with 5,352 restaurants in 15 countries, including 626 outlets in the U.S. in New York, Michigan and Ohio, according to data company Scrape Hero as of June 30, 2022.

Coffee: People elsewhere may think, “Oh, Tim’s is like our Dunkin’ Donuts?” In a sense, yes. Like Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, Tim Hortons’ bagged coffee or K-Cup pods can be purchased at grocers nationwide including Publix, Winn-Dixie, Target, Walmart and others.

Namesake: Horton played 24 seasons for the National Hockey League, from 1949 until his death at age 44 in a single-car crash in 1974.

Tim Horton played 24 seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League, from 1949 to 1974. He co-founded his namesake coffee shops in Canada and died at age 44 in a single-car crash in 1974.
Tim Horton played 24 seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League, from 1949 to 1974. He co-founded his namesake coffee shops in Canada and died at age 44 in a single-car crash in 1974.

Timmies tried Broward before

In the 1980s two Tim Hortons ventured into Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach., but by the early 1990s, they closed. In 1992, the owner of the Pompano Beach location on 1900 E. Atlantic Blvd., a block west of U.S. 1, told the Miami Herald the removal of a left-turn lane four years earlier led business to drop 15% at his location.

There haven’t been any Tim Hortons in Florida since, but Ferranti said stores opened in Houston and several stores are poised to open in Atlanta in 2023.

In 2019, more than 4 million Canadians visited Florida, according to travel professionals site Open Jaw. The numbers dropped drastically during the first two years of the COVID pandemic, to just 454,000 visitors in 2021. But the number of Canadian travelers rallied in 2022 as restrictions eased to about 2.8 million.

“We believe South Florida has tremendous opportunity for coffee QSR (quick service restaurant) growth, and Tim Hortons, with its innovative offerings, best-in-class coffee, and flexible development formats will fill a consumer need not currently met for Canadian and Americans alike in South Florida,” Ferranti said.

A contemporary Tim Hortons restaurant serves coffee, donuts and fast foods like sandwiches, wraps and chicken strips. There is talk about opening locations of the Canadian landmark eatery in South Florida.
A contemporary Tim Hortons restaurant serves coffee, donuts and fast foods like sandwiches, wraps and chicken strips. There is talk about opening locations of the Canadian landmark eatery in South Florida.

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