Tim Hortons on Wyoming and Fenkell

Title is pretty self explanatory.

Taking over for a two-year closed KFC. Looks like a lot of work is being put into it too.

I though TH was a "high-end" company so the location is a little surprising. I really hope they don't bring the nonchalant ghetto attitude to the place just because it's in the city. Other chain fast food restaurants nearby manage to be top quality, hopefully they can too.

But this combined with the mini-mall reopening after being boarded up for at least ten years is a positive for the corridor. The south part of it anyway.

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Originally Posted by brizee

Title is pretty self explanatory.

I though TH was a "high-end" company so the location is a little surprising.

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Tim's is a fast food/donut shop. They don't eat donuts in Detroit?

I don't think they're making artisanal donuts. Organic locavore donuts on Fenkell, anyone?

Timmy's is found in just about every neighborhood in Canada. You don't need to be a millionaire to get some coffee and Timbits, just a couple of bucks.

I read an article shortly after the economy blew up that was talking about Tim Hortons making big expansionary moves in Michigan. Apparently they felt that blue-collar Michigan jived with the good value of Tim Horton. Funny enough, TH was taking over 18 closed Starbucks locations at the time.

I can swing through the TH drive-thru and grab an extra-large coffee and a donut for less than $3. I somehow don't see that as high-end.

Also, a Timmy's at that location would do pretty well I think. Hell, it wouldn't be that hard to pop off the Lodge and grab a coffee if you're on your way somewhere else, even.

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Originally Posted by xequar

I read an article shortly after the economy blew up that was talking about Tim Hortons making big expansionary moves in Michigan. Apparently they felt that blue-collar Michigan jived with the good value of Tim Horton. Funny enough, TH was taking over 18 closed Starbucks locations at the time.

I can swing through the TH drive-thru and grab an extra-large coffee and a donut for less than $3. I somehow don't see that as high-end.

Also, a Timmy's at that location would do pretty well I think. Hell, it wouldn't be that hard to pop off the Lodge and grab a coffee if you're on your way somewhere else, even.

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Why don't Tim Hortons open a restaurant in Lafayette Park?

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Originally Posted by stasu1213

Why don't Tim Hortons open a restaurant in Lafayette Park?

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Except for downtowns, Tim's, like most fast food, locate at busy street locations with lots of vehicles where they can have drive-thrus.

Great News! Thats my neighborhood, we'll take it!

I think another Tim Hortons is opening on French Road and Gratiot.

Makes sense. Gratiot's arguably the busiest street in the city. There's steady bumper-to-bumper traffic during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

Another Tim Horton's just opened at Seven Mile and Evergreen, replacing a former KFC/Long John Silver's. And that definitely looks like a TH at Gratiot and French roads.

Good to hear they are locating on Fenkell! We need more options within the city, in addition to what is going on downtown and midtown.

I wonder what portion of their proceeds Tim Horton's still donates to youth hockey, considering one of the most successful inner-city hockey programs is 7 blocks south and west of their new location. The program has fallen on hard times during the great recession, despite the fact that all the equipment is provided free of charge, including skates, sticks, and helmets.

For those of you not familiar, Tim Horton was 18 year stand-out defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs who was killed in a car crash driving from Buffalo to Toronto. He had several donut shops at the time of his death.

The Tim Horton's at Jefferson and the Boulevard, across from the BI Bridge, seems to do quite well. Much better than the Starbuck's that preceded it in that location.

Most of the Detroit area is just much more a Tim's kind of place than a 'Buck's one, and it doesn't surprise me at all that this includes African-Americans and the city itself. Good for them. I share Brizee's hope that Tim's here in the city keeps up the generally high service/cleanliness standards of their stores, unlike some other fast food outlets.

I don't think Tim Horton's is high end, but it is interesting that it has been perceived that way. While it is fast food, you don't really have that gross, smelly, grease-pit fast food feeling when you're there. The predominance of sandwiches, soups, and coffee gives it more of a diner feel. I prefer it overwealmingly over boiling vats of grease.

That said, their coffee is essentially just hot brown water, good only in a pinch such as a hangover or the possibility of falling asleep at the wheel.

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Originally Posted by brizee

I though TH was a "high-end" company so the location is a little surprising.

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I always thought it was more "Dunkin Donuts" than "Starbucks". In fact, they moved into the NYC market a couple of years ago by buying up the leases of about a dozen Dunkin Donuts locations.

Another is opening on 7 mile and Evergreen

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Originally Posted by Hamtragedy

I wonder what portion of their proceeds Tim Horton's still donates to youth hockey, considering one of the most successful inner-city hockey programs is 7 blocks south and west of their new location. The program has fallen on hard times during the great recession, despite the fact that all the equipment is provided free of charge, including skates, sticks, and helmets.

For those of you not familiar, Tim Horton was 18 year stand-out defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs who was killed in a car crash driving from Buffalo to Toronto. He had several donut shops at the time of his death.

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Yes, poor Tim was killed while drunk driving at over 100 mph.

Yes, the sandwiches are decent, but that TH coffee just 'can't get right'. The worst. I wonder if they will have free wifi?

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Originally Posted by poobert

That said, their coffee is essentially just hot brown water, good only in a pinch such as a hangover or the possibility of falling asleep at the wheel.

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Originally Posted by stasu1213

Why don't Tim Hortons open a restaurant in Lafayette Park?

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According to their website, Tim Hortons is over 99.5% franchise-owned/operated. Which means that if you want a Tim Hortons location near you, either you need to open it yourself, find a group of people to open it with you, or convince someone with money that it would be a good place to invest some money. Just over $150k, I think the website said.

I actually think that a TiHo would do well on Jefferson, near LP, though probably not on it, because of the lack of drive-by traffic.

But it does go to another point, city politics what it is kinda drives away a lot of potential investors. When the city can cater to the upper-middle income investor class -- which unlike the Top 1% wealth really does rely on the city for basic services/needs -- you will businesses and services open up in droves.

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Originally Posted by xequar

Hell, it wouldn't be that hard to pop off the Lodge and grab a coffee if you're on your way somewhere else, even.

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As long as you're driving an armored vehicle.

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Originally Posted by corktownyuppie

According to their website, Tim Hortons is over 99.5% franchise-owned/operated. Which means that if you want a Tim Hortons location near you, either you need to open it yourself, find a group of people to open it with you, or convince someone with money that it would be a good place to invest some money. Just over $150k, I think the website said.

I actually think that a TiHo would do well on Jefferson, near LP, though probably not on it, because of the lack of drive-by traffic.

But it does go to another point, city politics what it is kinda drives away a lot of potential investors. When the city can cater to the upper-middle income investor class -- which unlike the Top 1% wealth really does rely on the city for basic services/needs -- you will businesses and services open up in droves.

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To be fair, I believe Derrick Coleman is one of the owners of the Tim Hortons franchise around Detroit. As we know, he's from Detroit, and part of the reason he's opening these stores is to give back to his community [[providing a variety of food options, providing jobs to kids in the city, etc.), even if he does take a bit of a hair cut profit-wise. Remember he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2010.

Make no mistake about it, Detroit is still a tough place to do business [[regardless of city politics). A lot of these business that have opened recently have either been heavily dependent on tax subsidies [[see Whole Foods and the tax foreclosure thread in DYES to get an idea of unstable the downtown market still is) or they're just sacrificing their money because they care about Detroit, because the demand still isn't there yet.

If city politics were the driving force of a municipality's economics, then Chicago would be a ghost town right now.

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Originally Posted by Meddle

As long as you're driving an armored vehicle.

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Meh, I bike though that area sometimes, and I've never had any problems. But then, I also bike from Lathrup Village to Mack/Conner several times a week too. The only problem I have is the occasional bit of glass or metal making it into a tire.

Also, Tim Hortons coffee > the coffee from many other places, including Starbucks. Just sayin'.

I did just see that Michigan is the fifth fattest state, so doughnuts should sell quite well.

Now we need to increase the DPD to keep up with the donuts.

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Originally Posted by 401don

Except for downtowns, Tim's, like most fast food, locate at busy street locations with lots of vehicles where they can have drive-thrus.

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That is true but one in lafayette park could be a unique one that rely on foot traffic especially from those who are going to work downtown or the two schools, one which is next door, the other across St Aubin, and King High School. The foot traffic and sit ins would make up for the lack of a drive thru

One just opened next to Aldi in Highland Park.

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Originally Posted by rutlev

Now we need to increase the DPD to keep up with the donuts.

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Oh, if Horton's keeps up with the donuts, I'm sure we'll see many of the DPD increase.

I would rather see Tim Horton's or another donut/coffee shop on around Detroit than another liquor store, boob bar, or coney island. Coleman must make sure that his employees are properly trained, and stores are fully stock at all times. The one downtown is ok but closes at 6pm when it should close at 9pm. That store is sometimes understock

There are a lack of Tim's on my way downtown from Farmington. Wyoming/Fenkell seems like a potentially good place to stop if the wait is not too long.

Interesting fast food sidenote that the dual Long John Silver's opened a few years ago have closed.

Yum! Brands, which was the spin off from Pepsi of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, bought Hot and Now [[a Michigan company) about a decade ago to "get experience in double drive thrus" [[like Checkers). After a few years it spun Hot and Now back to management, where it essentially became a dead chain very quickly.

This was done to support the dual franchise under one roof model as well. Even 15 years ago, there were KFC/Taco Bells and other permutations in Detroit [[like @ 75 & Fort and 75 just north of E. Grand Blvd).

Around 2007, Yum! Bought A&W/Long John Silvers up to add burgers and fish as potential double offerings. A&W had been headquartered in Farmington Hills for a few years, but had been bought by Long John's a couple of years earlier.

One of the first Long John's/A&Ws was put in Detroit after they knocked down the NorWest Theater by Fenkell and Southfield to make room for it.

At Seven and Evergreen, they did the Long John's/KFC. There were others, like an A&W/KFC in Fowlerville.

Recently Yum! decided to dump A&W and Long Johns. This may have been part of why the combo shops in Detroit are now closed, a lack of corporate support to an abandoned idea. If these locations were marginal or worse, they would be closed and sold off, as appears to have happened.

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Originally Posted by Hamtragedy

For those of you not familiar, Tim Horton was 18 year stand-out defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs...

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Canadian spell check. Haha!!!

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Originally Posted by stasu1213

That is true but one in lafayette park could be a unique one that rely on foot traffic especially from those who are going to work downtown or the two schools, one which is next door, the other across St Aubin, and King High School. The foot traffic and sit ins would make up for the lack of a drive thru

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Stasu, if this is such a prime location, why did Paris Cafe close? A franchised place is even mroe problematic, in that the extra expense of franchise fees means it will have to generate even more business. Perhaps an independent could pick up where Paris left off, but I doubt the location fits Tim Horton's profile.

I have my own "wish list" of businesses and services I would like to see in the city, but the bottom line will always be the bottom line.

Putting a Tim Hortons in the middle a Black Detroit Northwest Side ghetto is a great ideal. It would lure cops for their coffee break and thus keeping street crime down.

neat.. now hopefully there will be more doughnut options locally..

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Originally Posted by downtownguy

Stasu, if this is such a prime location, why did Paris Cafe close? A franchised place is even mroe problematic, in that the extra expense of franchise fees means it will have to generate even more business. Perhaps an independent could pick up where Paris left off, but I doubt the location fits Tim Horton's profile.

I have my own "wish list" of businesses and services I would like to see in the city, but the bottom line will always be the bottom line.

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There's something to be said for name recognition, though. At least two suburbanites in this thread have expressed interest in a TH in that location, and if someone's heading downtown for a something and wants a coffee, they can search for coffee on the smartphone, know what Tim Hortons is, and stop. Hell, if there were one there, I'd hit it on my way to my internship on the East side.

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Originally Posted by laphoque

One just opened next to Aldi in Highland Park.

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And I happened to get a photo of that particular TH:

Attachment 15243

I took that while trying to find the Sanders plant on Oakman. I forgot where the plant was and ended up driving through areas of Detroit near HP's western border! [[at one point I even went on to the Lodge southbound from the Davison, got off at Elmhurst Street thinking it would take me into HP, but I ended up heading west [[which was the only way the exit went) and then turned onto Woodrow Wilson and eventually back onto the Davison)

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Originally Posted by stasu1213

I would rather see Tim Horton's or another donut/coffee shop on around Detroit than another liquor store, boob bar, or coney island. Coleman must make sure that his employees are properly trained, and stores are fully stock at all times. The one downtown is ok but closes at 6pm when it should close at 9pm. That store is sometimes understock

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Here here ! I agree , Even though I'm not a big Tim Hortons fan, their coffee is brown water, At least the sandwiches are more healthy than all the fried fast food typically offered in the city ! I have to a agree I would much rather see a Tim Hortons than ANOTHER liquor store or wig/beauty/barber shop. I hope they can keep the standards up though ,because we all know how the service can be in the city, and we all know what I'm talking about .

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Originally Posted by Bham1982

Tim's is a fast food/donut shop. They don't eat donuts in Detroit?

I don't think they're making artisanal donuts. Organic locavore donuts on Fenkell, anyone?

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Canada positively lives on Tims. If it werent for Tims, we'd still be out hunting and foraging for our daily subsistence. Nobody wants to go back to that.

Hah! Don't know how that can stand that horrid "offee" [[not coffee), but anyway I drove by the Tim Hortons on Fenkell and Wyoming, and noticed they have the 'bullet-proof' glass up at the service counter if I am not mistaken. Can someone confirm this?

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Originally Posted by canuck

Canada positively lives on Tims. If it werent for Tims, we'd still be out hunting and foraging for our daily subsistence. Nobody wants to go back to that.

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I don't have anything against Tim Horton's. I've only been to one TH. It was on E. Jefferson & E. Grand Blvd and never went back. The coffee was not good and the danish was hard and had jam in the middle instead of fruit. If you want really great coffee and made on the premises baked goods go to Milano Bakery at Mack and Russell. For $2.83 you will get 20 ounces of excellent coffee and a danish or other pastry with real fruit. They don't have latte's, mocha's, or cap's but at least when you hand them a $5.00 bill you will get some change back not just a smile and a receipt.

TH may or may not have the best coffee or donuts, and we could be discussing their offerings forever. What we really should be discussing is why there are only a few TH's in the city of Detroit, and why we have to drive to the edge of Eastern Market to purchase a decent cup of coffee!! These are operations that should be near all the neighborhoods in the city.

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Originally Posted by p69rrh51

TH may or may not have the best coffee or donuts, and we could be discussing their offerings forever. What we really should be discussing is why there are only a few TH's in the city of Detroit, and why we have to drive to the edge of Eastern Market to purchase a decent cup of coffee!! These are operations that should be near all the neighborhoods in the city.

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I agree. People should not have to drive 20 miles for a good cup of coffee. There should be great places to eat and shop in every neighborhood in the city. However, such is not the case. I merely mentioned Milano's because a lot of folks on DYes go to the Eastern Market every Saturday.

I happy that TH has moved into the Detroit market , howevre like I said earlier , That "coffee" is UNDRINKABLE !, and the latte's, mocha's ect are no better sorry. If you want good java check out Astro's on Michigan in corktown, also Chez zara's if you are in Downtown @ chase tower or in the Madison building , or Great Lakes Coffee on Woodward in Midtown .

I don't drink coffee everyday and have learn to enjoy the qualities of a good cup.
I'm not the type has to have a cup just to wake up , so I don't have to have a cup everyday , so if I do I go to the above mention .

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Originally Posted by MidTownMs

I don't have anything against Tim Horton's. I've only been to one TH. It was on E. Jefferson & E. Grand Blvd and never went back. The coffee was not good and the danish was hard and had jam in the middle instead of fruit. If you want really great coffee and made on the premises baked goods go to Milano Bakery at Mack and Russell. For $2.83 you will get 20 ounces of excellent coffee and a danish or other pastry with real fruit. They don't have latte's, mocha's, or cap's but at least when you hand them a $5.00 bill you will get some change back not just a smile and a receipt.

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Further down Fenkell you will find a Tim Horton's at Telegraph. While this should not be a surprise, they have just finished renovating it. On Telegraph just S of Fenkell a new store opened. It too is a Tim Horton's. Is this saturation making Detroit the Canada of the United States?

The one at Gratiot and French is open, too.

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Originally Posted by Detroitdave

I happy that TH has moved into the Detroit market , howevre like I said earlier , That "coffee" is UNDRINKABLE !, and the latte's, mocha's ect are no better sorry. If you want good java check out Astro's on Michigan in corktown, also Chez zara's if you are in Downtown @ chase tower or in the Madison building , or Great Lakes Coffee on Woodward in Midtown .

I don't drink coffee everyday and have learn to enjoy the qualities of a good cup.
I'm not the type has to have a cup just to wake up , so I don't have to have a cup everyday , so if I do I go to the above mention .

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Dont forget 1515 Broadway where you could get coffee in a 16 ounce cup instead of the small 12 oz cups that the other indepent owned coffee shops only gives you. What a rip off. I had heard that a pastry/coffee shop is going to open on Gratiot near Russell. Do anyone has any update on that one?

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Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Further down Fenkell you will find a Tim Horton's at Telegraph. While this should not be a surprise, they have just finished renovating it. On Telegraph just S of Fenkell a new store opened. It too is a Tim Horton's. Is this saturation making Detroit the Canada of the United States?

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Yes it is interesting that they have the two there now and they did renovate the original one). My daughter had her first job there, and it is interesting the composition of the employees has changed. I wonder if it is now a franchise store, and not company owned.

I know Tim's did that with the one in Farmington Hills. It is done by a Canadian.

Who are the owners of these Tim Horton's that are opening up in the inner city?

I know a couple of football players own at least one maybe more.

Not far from the Evergreen/7-Mile Tim Horton's, they just opened one on 8 Mile, east of Telegraph. It's on the south/Detroit side, opposite of Sam's Club. It's beside an Omega Coney Island. The building used to be an Arby's in the 2000s.

I have been conversing with others about the recent inundation by Timmy.

I've actually been in the coffee business for almost a year, now. I've been entertaining the idea of getting a mall-based kiosk. Thus far, I've mostly been doing vending events and trade shows.

http://ronhilliard.organogold.com/r/US/index.html

Chaldean entrepreneurs are trying their hands in this franchise business. They will open businesses where most people dare to tread. More power to them.

On a similar note . I think I may have heard about this somewhere on this site but I'm too lazy to look :-)
I was downtown yesterday and notice that Roasting plant is opening in the First national building on Woodward @ Campus Martius .
This is pretty big news . I did a quick Google check and these guys are from NYC and Manhattan !
I think this is big news because they are only in NYC on Manhattan , not Chicago, or LA and they picked Detroit to open !? , Not Troy, Novi, or any burb.
Also this wont be just another big chain [[Starbucks,Caribou,Einstien Bagels,Biggby's ect)
http://roastingplant.com/
http://roastingplant.com/locations/
I think it shows the confidence and forward thinking of New Yorkers about Detroit.
We all know New Yorkers ALWAYS like to be at the forefront of EVERYTHING :-)
Any thoughts ?

Tim Hortons has great coffee, the biggest one you can get is under $2 and it will bring jobs to the city. Fantastic!

One also just opened on Eureka Road in Southgate, just east of Allen Road. It's just south of another one inside a Shell gas station on Northline Road at I-75 [[also in Southgate). That makes a total of four Tim Horton's stores in the Southgate city limits! There's also one at Fort Street and Pennsylvania Road next to a White Castle and just west of a Kmart and another just down Northline at Dix-Toledo Road, next to a Bank of America. Is Southgate becoming the Canada of suburban Detroit?