Results tagged “donuts”

It's Timbit time: After last week's announcement from fast food chain Riese Restaurants that it would convert its Dunkin Donuts franchises into Tim Hortons locations, there were collective cheers from Canadians (and those familiar with the mostly north-of-the-border chain) and a little confusion from DD devotees. According to a press release, nine of its ten Manhattan locations are opening today; two others are opening in Brooklyn (full list of locations after the jump). Tim Hortons considers its new NYC presence in its cap and wants to take the Big Apple by storm; COO David Clanachan said, "New Yorkers are savvy customers, they understand good value and quality. We are focused on earning the loyalty of New Yorkers and adding them to the millions of people who make Tim Hortons their daily stop for breakfast, lunch and snack times."

As dozens of New Yorkers cling to their monitors and tearfully pay homage to the "Time to Make the Donuts" guy in preparation for eleven(!) Dunkin' Donuts locations closing their doors, others are simply refusing to even bear (claw) the thought of patronizing the Canadian Tim Hortons stores that will now be runnin' in Dunkin'. One Upper West Sider told the News, "It's not American. I can't do it." As the Dunkin' in Penn Station started getting disassembled today, one Brooklyn Heights man laments, "I just wanted a cup of coffee. Now I don't know where to go." Hopefully if Tim's 100 gallons of free coffee at that spot Monday is not enough, he'll be able to track down one of the 427 Dunkins within 10 miles. Canadians seem to be enjoying their loon's eye view of our newfound Donut Wars, as a Tim's spokesman shills away, "In Canada, Tim Hortons is a religion so I don't see why it can't be the same kind of situation here."

Pat Kiernan will be very happy: The Riese organization, operators of scores of NYC chain restaurants, is closing its 13 Dunkin' Donuts outlets on Friday and re-opening them as brand-new Tim Hortons on Monday morning. The Nation's Restaurant News' story suggests someone's maple leaf prophecy has come to pass. After being dropped from Riese's roster, Dunkin' released a statement yesterday that alleged, among other things, they're still awesome and "in the past five years 244 new Dunkin’ Donuts shops have opened in New York City." The company also explained that a 2004 lawsuit citing "health and safety violations" led to the "disenfranchisement" decision; Riese denies it and says a five-year contract expired. With Dunkin' dissed and Starbucks plugging away at yet another reformulation, expect an onslaught of free coffee promotions in the next few weeks from all sides, especially around Midtown. The announcement comes on top of previous news that Tim Hortons will open three more locations to be co-branded with Cold Stone Creamery in August, including one inside Cold Stone's flagship Times Square store. Tim Hortons is a megapopular Canadian coffee and snacks chain named for its founder, an NHL record-holder who died in a 1974 car accident.

Happy National Doughnut Day! What this means for you is, of course, free donuts—and Consumerist points out that free donuts are non-caloric and guilt free. Ah, sweet little lies. It's too bad the Doughnut Plant doesn't seem to be participating in today's events, but there are two ways to get your free fix. Head to the one surviving Krispy Kreme at 2 Penn Plaza and you will get a free donut with no purchase necessary, barring any Kentucky Fried riots. Since business isn't doing so well, however, you may want to get a little something extra while you're there. Meanwhile, over at one of the many Dunkin' Donuts in the city (where they announced a new Toffee donut today) you can get a free donut with the purchase of any beverage.