hospitalitystyle.com

(March 2010) posted on Tue Mar 09, 2010 EST

Canadian restaurant chain to add 900 new locales

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Tim Hortons Inc. is planning a major expansion effort, by opening 600 added restaurants in its home country of Canada and 300 more in the U.S. during the next three years. As part of that growth strategy, the company is rolling out new restaurant designs in both markets.

"Our strategies will continue to transform Tim Hortons, not only adding significant scale but also introducing important additional growth layers to our business platform to extend our position as a leader in the North American restaurant industry," said Don Schroeder, president and CEO. "We are a growth company with significant long-term opportunities in Canada, and we are also excited by the prospects of continued profitable growth in the U.S., and potentially internationally in the longer term.”

In Canada, where the company currently has just over 3,000 locales, Schroeder said the company said it “will pilot a new restaurant format … in one location designed to increase capacity and throughput while maintaining the customer experience.” In the U.S., where it currently operates 563 units in 12 states, the company said it is focus its efforts on becoming known as a cafe and bake shop destination.

“We plan to significantly differentiate the brand through a new concept restaurant design that will be piloted in at least 10 existing locations,” Schroeder said. “The new restaurant concept features a dramatic reimaging to more sharply define our cafe and bake shop positioning, including enhanced finishes, fixtures and seating areas as well as experiential changes.”

Tim Hortons also said it will continue to seek “non-standard” formats and locations, in both countries, including hospitals, universities and colleges, airports.