IN the United States, politicians woo soccer moms. In Canada, they go after “Tim Hortons voters,” the folks who steer clear of lattes and start their day with a cruller and a double double (two creams, two sugars, one coffee) from the doughnut chain that’s come to represent no-frills value.
WAR WITH HOLES Tim Hortons (below in both photos) and Dunkin Donuts.
Timmies, as Canadians affectionately refer to it, is more than just a company to those who live north of the 49th parallel. It has a backstory � having been founded by Mr. Horton, a Hall of Fame hockey player, and Ron Joyce, a police officer. There’s even a sense of redemption, now that it’s once again a Canada-based company (Wendy’s owned it for years).
Oh, and it has coffee and doughnuts, which may not be quite the same here � a handful of Tim Hortons opened Monday in New York City � as they are farther north, and not exactly what they once were there, either.
The coffee seems serviceable though not particularly distinctive. But it’s such a phenomenon in Canada that the company posted a notice on its Web site to put to rest rumors that it was spiked with nicotine or MSG.
American visitors tend to flock to the sweets � the dipped and filled Canadian maple varieties of pastries, the raisin-studded Dutchie and the butter tarts. Those seem scarce so far in New York, as do other fan favorites.
Hani Sakalla, who lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for seven years, couldn’t find his walnut crunch doughnuts Monday morning at the store on West 34th Street. “I was really hoping they would be here, but if they showed up you would see me adding a lot of weight on the scale,” he said. No matter; he left the store so loaded down that he had to take a cab the rest of the way to work.
“Depending on the size and location, we have to limit the items in some stores,” said David Clanachan, Tim Hortons chief operations officer, United States and international. “The majority of the core products will always be there.”
Therein lies the problem. Canada is filled with sit-down Tim Hortons with a full menu, but many of the chain’s stores in New York are either tiny or tucked into slots next to a Pizza Hut or other operations in the same room. Once each Timmies has filled its case with the regular doughnuts (and pallid bagels) that headquarters requires, there isn’t much room left for the chain’s unique items.
This somewhat neutered experience wasn’t helped by the New York opening, which was so hasty that the company has neglected some of the basics. Its Web site lists the Brooklyn stores as open, though they won’t be open until at least July 20. It also doesn’t ship Timmies gear to the United States, though it has had stores in the United States for about 25 years.
Back in Canada, resentment lingers among some die-hards about the company’s switch several years ago to a par-baking system. Rather than baking from scratch at the store, as Krispy Kreme and some Dunkin’ Donuts locations do, most of the doughnuts are shaped and fried in Canada, then frozen, shipped and finished off in each shop’s oven.
It is a tricky move, given that the chain has long slapped an “always fresh” slogan on its logos. “They’re flash frozen,” Mr. Clanachan said. “It seals in the freshness.” He added that it’s easier to keep more varieties in the racks this way.
He likes his chances in New York. “The majority of people in New York are fantastic, and they really like to try new things,” he said. They include blueberry-flavored iced coffee and a “new great” breakfast sandwich with processed cheese, according to the Web site.
Elsewhere in the United States, sales at its stores open more than a year climbed 0.8 percent last year, a miserable figure for a restaurant chain offering cheaper fare in times like these. It also has closed or will close a number of stores closest to New York City.
Until the company opens more full-size stores here, there are some glimmers of hope. It will soon move into three Cold Stone Creamery stores in Manhattan, raising all sorts of possibilities for ice-cream-and-doughnut smush-ins.
