Tim Hortons - Neighbourhood Retailer

Tim Hortons expands in NI with two new openings

Linda Stewart — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 11:57:43 +0000

Restaurant chain Tim Hortons has announced it will open two new restaurant and drive-thrus in Newtownards and West Belfast later this year, as part of its further growth and expansion in Northern Ireland.

Famed for its coffee, delicious donuts and signature Timbits, fans of the brand and visitors to the local area will get to experience a taste of Canada much closer to home.

The new venue in Newtownards is located in Castlebawn Retail Park, whereas the West Belfast location is in The Kennedy Centre, bringing the total number of Tim Hortons venues in Belfast to four.

The restaurants are set to create a total of 100 jobs for the local community, offering a combination of full-time and part-time roles with impressive progression and training opportunities.

Each venue will offer dine-in seating for up to 90 guests as well as its renowned drive-thru service for those on-the-go. Delivery options will also be made available following the launch.

Customers can expect coffee, freshly baked donuts and Timbits as well as delicious breakfast, lunch and evening meal options, including hot sandwiches, wraps and burgers.

Tim Hortons is known for its impressive opening giveaways, so locals and fans close to the Northern Ireland locations are encouraged to keep their eyes peeled and follow the Tim Hortons® Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok pages for more news.

Kevin Hydes, chief commercial officer of Tim Hortons franchise in the UK, said: “We have a huge fan base in Northern Ireland, so we are particularly excited to bring Tim Hortons to Newtownards and West Belfast. Both of which have a thriving community, full of families, commuters, and individuals that will be delighted to hear we’re bringing our Canadian charm a little closer to home.

“Our amazing team play a key part in the success of our brand, and we are delighted to announce over 50 roles will be on offer at each restaurant. We cannot wait to connect with the wonderful communities and welcome applications from all those passionate about a career in hospitality, no matter the experience.”

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Tim Hortons to open new drive-thru outlet in Portadown

Linda Stewart — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 10:36:34 +0000

Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons will open a drive-thru branch in Portadown on June 30 offering free breakfasts and drinks for a year to some of the first customers through the door.

Located on Meadow Lane, the restaurant, which is famous for its donuts and coffee, will seat up to 100 guests.

It will also provide a drive-thru and takeaway service as well as a delivery service.

The first guest in the drive-thru and the restaurant will win free drinks for a year, a prize worth £3,100.

It will also give away a free breakfast meal to its first 100 customers. Free drinks and donuts will also be given to those who activate a Tim Hortons digital wallet.

The new restaurant will open every day from 6am until midnight.

Kevin Hydes, chief commercial officer of Tim Hortons franchise in the UK said: “Portadown is a major town with great transport links and has a wonderful community so we look forward to opening our doors here at the end of June.”

There are currently nine Tim Hortons restaurants in the north and 32 Tim Hortons restaurants in the UK, with a flagship location in Leicester city centre.

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Tim Hortons opens ninth NI outlet

Linda Stewart — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 14:26:08 +0000

Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons has opened its ninth outlet in Northern Ireland, creating 50 full and part-time jobs in the process.

Speaking after the new sit-in and drive-thru restaurant at Junction in Antrim served its first customers, Kevin Hydes, chief commercial officer of the Tim Hortons franchise in the UK, said: “We began our journey in Northern Ireland three years ago when we opened the doors to our first restaurant in Belfast and have been welcomed with open arms ever since.

“Given the popularity of our current locations, it made sense to launch this newest restaurant with a drive-thru in Antrim so that we can make ourselves available to even more people.”

Junction centre director Chris Flynn added: “We have created a space for customers to relax, socialise and enjoy themselves, and the arrival of Tim Hortons to the scheme further strengthens this offering.

Celebrating the opening of Tim Hortons at The Junction are (L-R) Chris Toner, New Store Opening Manager, Tim Hortons; Geraldine Robinson, Regional Manager, Tim Hortons and Chris Flynn, Centre Director, The Junction.

“The regeneration of the Costa Coffee store is also an exciting development, an already popular destination with customers, we look forward to welcoming coffee lovers to a fully modernised and refreshed site.”

Tim Horton adds to a growing food and beverage offering at the centre, with Costa Coffee having also rejuvenated its location, creating a modern, inviting café space with state-of-the-art facilities.

The Junction says it remains committed to continuing to expand its portfolio with the recent opening of activewear shoe brand Skechers and plans submitted last November for a new £10m Dobbies Garden Centre, which will also include a food hall, restaurant and café.

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Tim Horton’s opens its third Belfast restaurant

Linda Stewart — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 12:42:12 +0000

Canadian restaurant Tim Horton’s has opened its third restaurant in Belfast at Boucher Road.

The new restaurant at Balmoral Plaza Retail Plaza opened its doors at 7am this morning, and offered free drinks for a year worth £3,100 to the first customer in the queue.

Meanwhile, the first 100 customers were treated to a free breakfast meal.

The new restaurant and drive thru opens from 6am to midnight seven days a week, offering bestselling treats like the iconic Tim Horton’s Timbits, Ice Capps, Freshly Baked Donuts and Tims Crispy Chicken Sandwich as well as dinner favourites including beef burgers, hot dogs, and lattice fries.

The company is running a series of giveaways including free drinks and donuts for those who activate their Tim Hortons’ digital wallet.

A spokesman said the venue was opening in time for those around the Boucher Road area to get their hands on its limited-edition festive menu, including its brand-new Snowball Surprise Deluxe Donut, Christmas Crispy Chicken and back by popular demand, its Rudolph the Reindeer Donut.

“The drinks menu will also delight guests with Orange or White Hot Chocolate, Salted Caramel Latte and Gingerbread Latte all available for a limited time only,” he said.

Kevin Hydes, Chief Commercial Officer of Tim Hortons UK franchise, said they couldn’t wait to open the doors in another part of the vibrant city of Belfast.

“Belfast has a great community that is frequently on the move, and our Boucher Road venue will make our offering more accessible to shoppers, university students, sports fans and those in and around the area,” he said.

“We are well known for our launch giveaways, with people travelling long distances and queuing overnight to claim our top prize and we always look forward to sharing these with our worthy winners.

“With Christmas around the corner, there are bound to be lots of guests in the area and we cannot wait to welcome them down from 7am, throughout the day.”

Caption: Kevin Hydes, Chief Commercial Officer of Tim Hortons UK franchise, joins staff to launch the new branch at Belfast’s Boucher Road

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Drive-thru revolution pushing up demand for sites

Joe Kearney — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 13:38:00 +0000

Demand for suitable sites for drive-thrus in the UK has jumped 25% since Covid hit, leading real estate company P-Three has revealed.

There are now around 2,500 drive-thrus across the UK and fast-food chains are expected to open around 200 new locations before the end of the year – with many sites already earmarked in Northern Ireland.

Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons, which already has a number of sites in Northern Ireland, plans to open at least 25 drive-thrus here in a two-year period – proof not only of the Canadian firm’s ambitions but also the growing trend for ordering food and drinks from our cars.

Much of that has been put down to the coronavirus pandemic and market researcher NPD revealed that visits to existing sites in the year to April 2021 were up by 40 million.

A ‘bunfight’ for new locations has seen suitable sites selling for £200,000 a pop, according to This Is Money, and from September to November 2020 there were 121 million visits to Britain’s 2,000 quick service restaurants (QSR) that offer drive-thru – a 14% increase on the same period last year, with spend up 45% to £723m.

Tim Hortons, which was first brought to the UK in 2017, has drive-thru offerings at half its 30-plus sites and the chains’ chief commercial officer in the UK, Kevin Hydes, said they were doing particularly well.

‘Exceptional performance’

He explained: “Despite challenging times for the sector, our drive-thru and flagship locations have delivered exceptional performance and our model is proving to be well attuned to the evolving needs of customers at this time.

“We’ve seen significant growth in drive-through lanes, and as restrictions have eased, that growth has remained.”

And more QSR chains are opening drive-thrus every day including Subway, Taco Bell and Krispy Kreme.

Among those joining the revolution in the months ahead are two huge American chains in the shape of fried chicken chain Popeyes and home of the square burger patty Wendy’s.

Wendy’s, which reported in March 2020 that drive-thru sales accounted for 90% of its US business as lockdowns bit, is returning to the UK after 20 years, hoping to steal a slice of a marketplace dominated by McDonald’s and Burger King.

In May it unveiled plans to open up to 400 outlets, creating at least 12,000 jobs – with drive thru certain to figure largely in its plans.

To read the full feature on the Price of the Protocol make sure to open the upcoming edition of Neighbourhood Retailer

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