COLD STONE CREAMERY @ TIM HORTONS (1170 Bay, at Bloor West, 416-975-4464 481 Danforth, at Logan, 416-466-3568) Open 24/7. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNN
Just the other week, Tim Hortons’ move into the lucrative New York City coffee market made flag-waving front pages across the country. But none mentioned that Timmy’s has also recently launched an even more significant “trial co-branding” – don’t call it a partnership – with Arizona-based ice cream franchise Cold Stone Creamery.
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“We’ve been busy little boys,” says Hortons P.R. jockey David Morelli. “We now have Cold Stone product in 50 of our U.S. stores, and Cold Stone has Tim Hortons in 50 of theirs. Customers love it, so we’ve decided to bring that same test’ up to Canada and start with six stores in the GTA.”
If you’re not familiar with Cold Stone’s much-copied DIY shtick, here’s the stone cold deal. First, you pick a base ice cream (say, French vanilla, Jell-O chocolate pudding, cake batter, all made in-house daily), then you choose a “mix-in” (say, roasted almonds, white chocolate chips, cherry pie filling). The combinations are virtually infinite.
The counter staff then combines the two by hand on a frozen granite slab – the Cold Stone in question – using spatulas. Oh, and they sing while doing so like they used to do at Licks. (The Banana Song is a particular favourite.)
Since I’ve been eating ice cream – and gelato and sorbet and frozen yogurt – almost every day for the past six weeks, I opt for something I haven’t seen anywhere else: a cup of cotton-candy ice cream mixed with Gummi Bears ($2.99 small/$3.49 medium/$3.99 large). And I’m pleasantly surprised.
Though not the best ice cream in town, the mouth feel’s certainly better than I expect from an evil American corporate franchise, and the biliously coloured base is the perfect match for the rubbery candy. Talk about a sugar rush! But what’s with the cornball singing?
“Part of Cold Stone’s allure is the entertainment value,” says Morelli. “I’ve seen singing in our stores, but I’ve been to others where there hasn’t been singing. Most do, but not all the time.”
