Any thoughts on a "Canadian Icon" getting bought?

[lio45]

Originally Posted by esquire

And don't get me started on the dingy stores and surly service.

There was a chain out there with service inferior to Tim's? Wow.

[Trevor3]

Originally Posted by esquire

Further to this, I think part of my positive impression of Tim's comes from the fact that it basically replaced Robin's Donuts as the dominant coffee-and-donuts chain around here.

There are still a few Robins kicking around selling their brown coloured hot water. Tim's coffee tastes like raindrops from heaven compared to Robin's crap. And don't get me started on the dingy stores and surly service.

Robin's was the worst. Anybody who was used to Robin's would look at Tim's as the incarnation of heaven on earth.

They used to have a small outlet on the ferries to Newfoundland, just terrible. I remember going to the Robin's in Sydney as a child... awful. Dark and dingy, everything was dried up and the coffee was awful according to my parents. Remember when Tim Horton's had the brick finish interiors in the early-mid 90s? Robin's is basically like that, but just imagine the building wasn't maintained in 15-20 years.

As far as the topic goes: Tim Horton's is not part of the Canadian indentity, but it is a brand that many people associate with Canadian experiences: 6am hockey practice, long road trips, getting in out of the cold after shovelling for hours, etc...

The sale doesn't change anything, they used to have some sort of deal with Wendy's so it is what it is. Tim's will always a be a brand that is iconic in Canada regardless of whether or not they can infiltrate the U.S. market or Kim Jong-Un becomes a majority shareholder. There are so many of these outlets that they have become a part of our way of life, there's just a "Tim's by default" mentality in so many of us that it doesn't matter who owns it so long as the product remains passable.

[Marty_Mcfly]

You guys might call me crazy, but I actually think Robin's coffee is a noticeable step up from Tim Hortons, but still nowhere near McDonalds when it comes to fast food coffee.

As for extremely bad coffee, try Treats at the Memorial University UC food court. They have about 6 or 7 different flavours, all of which taste like sewage water filtered through dirty underwear. The most tolerable being their house blend (though I hear if you ask for their fair trade coffee it's wayyyyy better)

[matthew6]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

You guys might call me crazy, but I actually think Robin's coffee is a noticeable step up from Tim Hortons, but still nowhere near McDonalds when it comes to fast food coffee.

As for extremely bad coffee, try Treats at the Memorial University UC food court. They have about 6 or 7 different flavours, all of which taste like sewage water filtered through dirty underwear. The most tolerable being their house blend (though I hear if you ask for their fair trade coffee it's wayyyyy better)

I'm no coffee expert but would say something like Folgers instant coffee be on par with Tim Hortons?

[saffronleaf]

Originally Posted by big W

At the end of the day, as a Canadian I don't care with regards to Burger King purchasing Tim Horton's what matters is the end of the day, the deal is a net benefit to Canada due to our better taxation system than the US. In fact I would like a few more deals like this if it means an advantage in terms of more taxes paid in Canada and a few more jobs here in Canada.

The tax benefit to Canada is negligible in a tax inversion, and the job creation is basically zero.

Canada has a territorial corporate tax system; so companies only have to pay taxes on the revenues generated within Canada. Regardless of where the HQ is, that rule remains the same. Putting up a PO Box in Oakville will not change the amount of revenues generated within Canada.

[saffronleaf]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

More tax dollars for us, at least.

Virtually zero additional tax dollars. Canada has a territorial tax system. A US company generating revenue in Canada will have to pay taxes to Canada. A Canadian company generating revenue in Canada will have to pay taxes to Canada. Nothing changes in that regard.

The reason corporations are fleeing the US is because the US has a global tax system. In addition to taxing companies for revenues generated in the US, a US-based company has to pay taxes on revenues it generates abroad.

Canada does not have that; therefore, virtually no additional taxes.

[saffronleaf]

Originally Posted by Doug

About time Canada got into the corporate inversion game. Why let the EU enjoy all the side benefits of the messed up US corporate tax system?

Meh, Canada is already involved in it, there have been a few notable inversions to Canada. Hell, Tim Hortons' reincorporation to Canada is one type of inversion. Valeant / Biovail was another huge inversion.

But I don't think it is a positive development overall. America's global tax system ensures that companies which create subsidiaries and shift around their profits to avoid taxation are eventually taxed if they repatriate their profits back to the country they're based in.

The US corporate tax system, although it is not competitive, is actually the responsible approach. Unfortunately, Canada is engaging in the race-to-the-bottom rather than taking a responsible approach.

Regulations will likely be passed to stop inversions while maintaining the global tax system, which is really the appropriate thing to do.

[ssiguy]

You can call me a country bumpkin but I LOVE Timmy's coffee.

I can't stand Second Cup and Starbucks is even worse. I don't mind a strong cup of coffee but Starbucks isn't strong but rather very bitter because they double roast the beans. They do make good specialty coffees thoug but the reality is that most people go there to "be seen". It may have been novel 20 years ago but now it's just the McDonald's of international coffee. Sorta like people who buy fake designer bags to try to impress people.

Actually McDonald's now makes a pretty mean cup of coffee because it's now Seattle's Best.

Someone brought this up earlier that many Wendy's are connected to Timmys so I wonder what will happen to them? I don't know about the rest of the country but in BC, Burger Kings are nearly non-existent. I can only think of one and that's in Langley. There are quite a few Timmys here now but they are surprisingly relatively new only really catching on in the last decade or so. I don't think the were any Timmys in Vancouver til the mid-90s.

[Trans Canada]

Tim Hortons and Wendy's de-merged in the 2000s but there are still many combo locations (at least there are in Alberta). I imagine they'll continue with the same relationship they currently have (same franchise owner for both brands is my guess). In recent years though I've seen far more Tim Hortons/Cold Stone combos than Wendy's combos, but I now find out Cold Stone got axed in February of this year (CTV-Tim Hortons pulling cold stone from Canadian stores).


Grmike, Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...necreamery.png

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

You guys might call me crazy, but I actually think Robin's coffee is a noticeable step up from Tim Hortons, but still nowhere near McDonalds when it comes to fast food coffee.

As for extremely bad coffee, try Treats at the Memorial University UC food court. They have about 6 or 7 different flavours, all of which taste like sewage water filtered through dirty underwear. The most tolerable being their house blend (though I hear if you ask for their fair trade coffee it's wayyyyy better)

The guy that runs treats is a real slime bag, he comes across as a nice guy. But I rented from him, dude was a total slum lord.

Ran over my bike in my own driveway, just picked it off the ground and leaned it against the house and drove off. Our stove broke, and he told us it would take a few months for him to replace it. I could go on and on about the guy.

He comes across as a real sociopath(trust me on that).

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

You can call me a country bumpkin but I LOVE Timmy's coffee.

I can't stand Second Cup and Starbucks is even worse. I don't mind a strong cup of coffee but Starbucks isn't strong but rather very bitter because they double roast the beans. They do make good specialty coffees thoug but the reality is that most people go there to "be seen".

I'd actually agree to a point.

I hate when people compare tim hortons coffee to high end stuff.

It's like comparing a baked potato to french fries.

When I want good coffee, I want to sit down and spend an hour enjoying some coffee with some snacks.

When I want tims I want my effing coffee, no pretense, no chatter, and don't waste my money.

[SpongeG]

we were just talking about this at work, one person mentioned hearing ontario is putting out some ads or something in the states to attract more US companies to move their company head quarters to ontario

I wonder if this will take hold and will we see more US companies move their headquarters north of the border...

i've also been reading some articles on facebook from the US perspective on this particular deal and there are a lot of comments calling for a boycott of burger king, its no longer american etc. and how this is so unamerican and it must be stopped etc.

as for tim hortons being an icon, i don't know many in the west who see it as an icon, most of the people that i know/work with etc who think of it as an icon have moved to the west from the maritimes or ontario - it just doesn't have the same cache out in BC/Vancouver area particularly that it does out east so for me its not a Canadian icon

[MolsonExport]

Burger Thing was owned by a British conglomerate (Grand Metropolitan, which later became Diageo) for decades.

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[niwell]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

You can call me a country bumpkin but I LOVE Timmy's coffee.

I can't stand Second Cup and Starbucks is even worse. I don't mind a strong cup of coffee but Starbucks isn't strong but rather very bitter because they double roast the beans. They do make good specialty coffees thoug but the reality is that most people go there to "be seen". It may have been novel 20 years ago but now it's just the McDonald's of international coffee. Sorta like people who buy fake designer bags to try to impress people.

Each to their own on the taste I suppose, but nobody is going to Starbucks to "be seen" anymore. Or at least nowhere I have lived. It's not the 1990s anymore and Starbucks is as big a chain as any.

I used to drink Tim's fairly often as there was one right in my building, but don't know how anyone can stomach the classic double-double. All I can taste is cream and sugar ugh. I can't drink Tim's at all anymore as in the past year or so caffeine has started to really affect me and their coffee was giving me headaches and dizzy spells. I'm not sure what it is but I could feel Tim's far more than any other chain or independent. I usually get decaf Americanos from Starbucks as they are somewhat passable compared to decaf coffee. And have less caffeine (decaf still has some caffeine).

If I could handle caffeine better I'd stick mostly to independents.

[mr.John]

Burger king's creepy king has to go down as one of the biggest marketing disasters of all time, followed closely by the recent Dorito's commercial where a retarded dork licks another person's fingers and sniffs his pants, yup that'll make me want to go out and buy a bag of Doritos

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

we were just talking about this at work, one person mentioned hearing ontario is putting out some ads or something in the states to attract more US companies to move their company head quarters to ontario

I wonder if this will take hold and will we see more US companies move their headquarters north of the border...

i've also been reading some articles on facebook from the US perspective on this particular deal and there are a lot of comments calling for a boycott of burger king, its no longer american etc. and how this is so unamerican and it must be stopped etc.

as for tim hortons being an icon, i don't know many in the west who see it as an icon, most of the people that i know/work with etc who think of it as an icon have moved to the west from the maritimes or ontario - it just doesn't have the same cache out in BC/Vancouver area particularly that it does out east so for me its not a Canadian icon

Ontario used to run ads in publications like the Economist, but the focus was global. I haven't heard anything about ads specifically targeting the USA, apart from the cheeky billboards in Silicon Valley touting Canada's faster visa process for high tech start-ups (and that was GofC, not Ontario).

[MolsonExport]

Maybe Burger Thing will start par-baking their burgers at a factory in Brantford, and shipping the frozen, assembled burgers to the franchises. Efficiency, you know.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by matthew6

I'm no coffee expert but would say something like Folgers instant coffee be on par with Tim Hortons?

Folgers is better.

For quick coffee to go on the cheap, 7-11 gets my vote. Their dark roast is reasonably tasty and for a refill is on par with Tim's for price.

I can't comment on McDonald's, but lots say it is good. It just doesn't lie on my commute patterns so it's not an option.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Maybe Burger Thing will start par-baking their burgers at a factory in Brantford, and shipping the frozen, assembled burgers to the franchises. Efficiency, you know.

I worked at Burger King in high school. I don't think you'd gain anything. Really.

[vid]

I only drink black coffee. Robin's has better coffee than Tim Hortons, which tastes like it's loaded with sugar even though you can see they didn't add any. Tim Horton's new dark roast isn't bad, it has kind of a chocolatey taste to it and doesn't have the terrible mouthfeel of their regular stuff, so I imagine it's just regular coffee without whatever chemicals and additives they add to their usual stuff.

I still haven't gotten a hot chocolate from Tim Hortons that tastes like chocolate. The closest they've gotten is actually the dark roast! Last time I got one I threw it out because it was shit.

As for the actual topic, I don't care who buys Tim Hortons. They have crappy food and the wait is always too long. Robin's has good coffee, fast service, and pizza pretzels.