Posted Jul 14, 2009, 2:45 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Hamilton, Ontario
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Fans enjoy New York Tims
TheSpec.com
Torstar News Service
NEW YORK–Albert Wells stood for a long time at the counter of the newly opened Tim Hortons at Penn Station in Manhattan, looking puzzled.
The 48-year-old postal worker, an American who had never heard of Timbits, had read about the iconic Canadian coffee chain's maple-glazed doughnuts in the newspaper and was eager to try one. But after two attempts in one day, none were available at that site. He consoled himself with a coffee – free yesterday on the opening day for the chain's 12 locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
"This coffee is good. But I'm disappointed about the maple glazed," he said.
It's not every day Canadian cuisine, in any form, shows up en masse in New York City, but Tim Hortons Inc.'s arrival here, the company's first foray into this most costly and competitive of locations, was heralded by lengthy stories in the New York Post and New York Times.
The stores are taking over sites formerly occupied by Dunkin' Donuts, causing some consternation for its long-time, loyal customers.
There are three Tim Hortons sites within Penn Station alone, the bustling train station that welcomes thousands of commuters every day.
Regulars, expecting to find Dunkin' Donuts, their regular coffee-and-carb fix, in its usual spot, were a little disoriented, even suspicious.
"Who's this Tim Horton guy and why's he taking over my Dunkin' Donuts?" asked Melanie Skunca, 32, a media buyer who rode the subway with two colleagues, one a huge Tim Hortons fan.
"This morning I was so excited!" said Elizabeth Oberlin, 21, a junior ad buyer who has been a three-times-a-week Hortons fan in her native Rochester. "This is awesome. Their iced cappuccino is the best."
A regular commuter who heads for that site bleary-eyed each morning, Skunca said it would be a little tough to alter her routine and switch allegiance.
Tim Hortons is opening its Manhattan locations in conjunction with franchisee Riese Organization, which runs more than 100 restaurants in New York, including TGI Friday's, KFC and Pizza Hut. Riese will be the franchisee of 12 Tim Hortons restaurants – 10 in Manhattan and two in Brooklyn. The sites were all formerly Dunkin' Donuts restaurants operated by Riese that closed July 10.
"There's a lot of excitement, a lot of buzz," said Tim Hortons' regional marketing manager Anne Pritz, who flew in from Ohio for yesterday's openings. "There are a lot of Canadians ecstatic to see us. Dozens have come up to us. It's a little piece of home."
Kevin Gamble, a 34-year-old Vancouver native working in New York, happily waved a small Canadian flag attached to the end of his pencil and had his photo taken at the counter. "I was very excited to come down," he said.
"It means my frantic runs to Canada to buy tins of Tim Hortons ground coffee are over. Everything in New York is fantastic except the coffee. It's dreadful. It's watery."
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