Tim Horton's Installs Charging Stations: EVs May Now Be Viable In Canada

Tim's does VERY well up here, I know a few franchise owners....the mark-up on a cup of coffee ensures that their profit margins are very healthy. I suspect that the electrical charging stations are a response, in part, to the flack that Tim's has gotten in the Canadian press recently about their long drive thru lines causing vehicles to unnecessarily idle and the waste/pollution that causes not to mention the traffic/noise issues. However, I see this gimmick working better at Starbuck's or some other high end coffee shop chain. If you frequent Tim Horton's at all, you'll find that the environmentally conscious hybrid/EV driver is not their core clientele! lol

@IHateCars I've been to several Tim Horton's, in part to see what the fuss was about. I just don't get it, I really don't. It's a donut shop with mediocre coffee. I can understand going there on occasion, but I have yet to figure out why it remains an institution in eastern Canada. (The Vancouverites do seem to prefer Starbucks.)

@IHateCars I agree with you that the coffee is mediocre, and I'll add that their donuts are absolutely nothing special. Dunkin' Donuts has much better coffee and their donuts are at least somewhat better (even if many of their stores are far less clean), though I've cut out sugar and caffeine from my diet for the most part in the last year and a half. Others claim Tim Horton's locations near them, in other states and in Canada, are busy, and I'm not disputing this, but I rarely see more than two or three cars in the parking lot at any of the Tim Horton's locations while driving past them in Michigan.

I loosely call MI home. After working in Oakville for a year, I have developed an addiction to Tim Hortons coffee coupled with their chocolate danish pastry. Mikey referenced that they cut their coffee with coke (above), and I believe him. I think it has something to do with the brutal winters, the convenience of their locations and a herd mentality. Same reasons for the burnt bean-chain, Starbucks.

The Tim Horton in Bangor, Me is always empty as well. The only place where Timi's would be wildly successful in USA would be on Florida's West coast in the winter when for six months is full of Canadians. I talked to some franchise owners and they said they won't open any there because 1. the profit will only be made in the winter and 2. it would be too far for their supplier to bring supplies.

@tresmonos Around these parts, you could have 2 Tim Hortons on the same block and they'd both print money for you. Decent coffee and menu, and locations everywhere make them the primary choice around here.

@IHateCars I've visited Tim Horton's a few times while in Canada, and Dunkin Donuts is what comes to mind. Canada, however, takes recycling more seriously than the U.S. When leaving Tim Horton's, they had 4 or 5 waste bins to separate trash -- I don't remember what categories they were, just my first time confusion as to what goes where. An EV charger in the parking lot seems to fit their culture.