Canadian coffee-and-doughnut chain Tim Horton's announced an enterprising expansion plan yesterday to put more than 800 new locations in the United States in the next few years, including 40 in St. Louis. Tim Horton's first came to the U.S. in 1985 to Buffalo, New York, which now has over 200 locations.
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Tim Horton's public relations manager Brynn Burton couldn't tell us where the St. Louis locations will be quite yet -- it all depends on franchisees -- nor would she be specific about the strategic thinking behind 40 new restaurants in the Gateway to the West.
"The expansion is mostly concentrated in Midwest and East, so St. Louis is a major metropolitan city," Burton says. "Its people, location and coffee habits were a really good fit."
The company also plans to put fifteen Tim Horton's in Youngstown, Ohio; fifteen in Fort Wayne, Indiana; and fifteen between Fargo and Minot, North Dakota. We can expect the first bakery-cafes to open here in 2015.
Do you think Tim Horton's can compete with the likes of Dunkin' Donuts and Saint Louis Bread Co.?
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