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.