I just got back from a cross-Canada vacation. Needless to say, there were a lot of Tim Hortons.
Thanks to a heavy caffeine addiction, I had to drink a lot of it. I like to compare the experience to Tom Cruise’s Interview with a Vampire character specifically the scene where he has to live off toads, snakes and other putridity to revive himself.
I’ve always had the same feeling of reluctance going into a Tim’s as I have when I occasionally enter a Walmart. But where Walmart is at least attempting to improve its image, Hortons is continually advancing the boundaries of its poor taste.
Recently they showed just how meaningless their Canadian identity marketing is when it comes to making a buck in New York. They’re showing just how little they care about people’s rights with the sponsorship (and quick backtrack) of an anti-gay marriage rally in Rhode Island.
Now Hortons is going down a path we know well in Toronto – the downright incongruous placement of their outlets in beloved corners of neighbourhoods.
New Yorkers are getting the bitter deal in Union Square.
Those New Yorkers recently enthralled by the idea of a Dunkin’ alternative may be cooling to their new coffee mongers already.
Tim’s plans involve a joint deal with restaurant T.G.I.Friday’s. That’s dandy for a suburban mall, but this puts them right in the midst of the Union Square Greenmarket -where it can take years to secure a spot as a farm vendor where many local NYC restaurateurs go to purchase fresh ingredients.
T.G.I.Friday’s has admitted that it’s not the type of restaurant that will be buying its farm fresh local produce at the adjacent market. Will Tim’s start buying farm fresh cream and flour?[rssbreak]
