The United States may have its various regional fast foods, but Canada has always had one,
unifying business: Tim Hortons. This simple doughnut and coffee shop which has since its
inception expanded into an international business empire still holds its roots in the country
from which it came. Tim Hortons has been around for less time than places like McDonald's,
and yet they have become so ingrained in the life of the average Canadian that it seems
like they’ve always been there, dependably doling out doughnuts and coffee. These are
the top ten untold truths of Tim Hortons.
Tim Horton was a hockey player
Tim Hortons, as anyone will tell you, has always been a purely Canadian tradition. Despite
the fact that the chain has spread out around the world (more on that later), it remains
a staple of the Canadian identity. People in Canada might know where the name came from,
but other people in other countries might just be wondering, "who is this Tim Horton,
and why was he so fond of coffee and doughnuts?" Well, we're here to tell you that Tim Horton's
job only adds to the overall Canadian vibe of this famous coffee shop: he was a hockey
player. Tim Horton was a professional hockey player in the NHL who was best known for his
time on the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team on which he spent 20 years as a player. Late
in his career, he was signed by the Buffalo Sabres. He was given a car as a signing incentive
to stay on the team, and it was this car in which Tim Horton would crash and lose his
life on the QEW just outside of St. Catharines, Ontario. Tim Horton is remembered as more
than just a coffee and doughnut shop founder. He was named one of the 100 greatest players
in NHL history and remains one of the most recognizable names in Canadian history for
both his business ventures and his time playing in the NHL.
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Tim Hortons used to sell burgers
When most people think about Tim Hortons these days they probably think, "well, that's the
place to go and get a coffee or a doughnut or a muffin." Of course, the chain has expanded
its menu quite a bit from the old days, and now it serves its own breakfast, soups, sandwiches,
potato wedges, and other typical fast food items. However, the one thing they don't sell
is what they started out serving, and that's burgers! That's right! When Tim Horton and
Jim Charade founded their first restaurant venture, Horton was more interested in selling
burgers than slinging coffee and doughnuts. The two formed a company called Timandjim
Ltd. and opened their very first burger joint in North Bay, Ontario. It was simply called
"Tim Horton Char-Broiled Hamburgers," and although it didn't last very long or continue
to be the Tim Hortons business model, it is considered by some to be the first Tim Hortons
ever opened. This was a big deal to people who lived in Hamilton, Ontario, where the
first "real" Tim Hortons opened in 1964. It has always been a point of pride in Hamilton
that it is the place where Tim Hortons was born. However, since North Bay has begun to
dispute that fact, there has been a very big (but polite) disagreement over who had the
"first" real Tim Hortons.
Tim Hortons Roll Up the Rim Was... Not So Great
There comes a time every year in Canada where Tim Hortons introduces a contest, one that
gets everyone coming in through their doors and buying coffee in droves. This magical
time of year is called Roll up the Rim, and though winning one of the grand prizes (which
include televisions, pre-paid visa cards, and cars) is fairly rare, there’s always
the chance that you could win a free coffee or donut, so it's not so bad either way! Of
course, most of the time you just end up getting the dreaded "please play again" cup, taunting
you with its suggestion of buying another coffee just to see if maybe this time you'll
get the Rav4. Of course, even having a slim chance of winning a car is better than not
having a chance at all. That's what it would have been like in the early days of Roll up
the Rim, where the grand prize was (wait for it)... a pack of Timbits. Yeah, so, not really
all that exciting. Obviously, things got a little bit better over time, but back in the
day, winning those Timbits might have also been really exciting. What do we know? Even
winning a pack of Timbits today would be pretty cool, considering how often your cup is just
a loser that gets tossed away. As a bonus fact, sometimes people forget to roll up their
rim and end up throwing away a winning cup. This has even led to some legal challenges
in Canada!
The missing apostrophe in Hortons was due to language laws
By the way, we're not making a mistake about how to spell Tim Hortons. "Where's the apostrophe?"
you might be asking. The lack of an apostrophe has to do with some historic laws in Canada.
It's definitely not a mistake that everyone missed early on and decided not to fix. The
lack of a possessive apostrophe comes from a little dispute that took place in Quebec.
See, Quebec is a Canadian province where French is the predominant language. It's the main
reason why everything in Canada has to be in both English and French, no matter where
you are. The Parti Quebecois passed bill 101 in 1977, making French the official language
of Quebec. This made it difficult for businesses to advertise in English, meaning all signage
had to be predominantly in French. The business was actually originally called Tim Horton's,
with the apostrophe, but it was removed so that the company would not have to rebrand
themselves in a different province. Without the anglicizing apostrophe, the name Tim Hortons
technically did not break any language laws. It might just grate on some grammar enthusiasts
out there.
Tims has locations outside of Canada (and the US)
Tim Hortons used to be an exclusively Canadian thing. In fact, it was one of Canada's most
defining features, even getting a bit of a guest spot in How I Met Your Mother. However,
in the last few years, there has been a push to bring Tim Hortons locations to the United
States. While most states still don't have a Tim Hortons within their borders, they are
particularly prominent in New York state, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. However,
Tim Hortons has not stopped in the United States. In fact, they have set their sights
much farther and have even opened locations in the Middle East. They have 19 locations
in the United Arab Emirates. They also already have locations in Europe, primarily in the
UK. They’ve even opened up two new locations in Madrid, where along with the standard Tim
Hortons drinks everyone knows, they also sell Mediterranean-style drinks. At this rate,
soon almost every country in the world will be able to see what all the fuss is about
over the famous Tim Hortons coffee. They might even get to try a dozen of their famous doughnuts!
Tim Hortons made Canada the biggest doughnut-consuming country
Americans may think they love their donuts, what with their Krispy Kremes and their Dunkin
donuts, but the truth is that they don't even touch Canada when it comes to doughnut consumption.
Canada is the leading consumer of doughnuts in the entire world, and Tim Hortons might
be to thank (or blame, depending on where you stand on fried dough). After all, there
is a Tim Hortons pretty much anywhere you go in Canada, and they always have doughnuts
ready to go as soon as you walk in. Doughnuts have become a huge part of Canadian culture
particularly when it comes to food. Sure, there's maple syrup and poutine and beaver
tails, but doughnuts are also just a huge part of what makes being a Canadian so special.
After all, doughnuts are the perfect snack for almost any large gathering, and getting
a dozen of them from Tim Hortons is pretty easy. They please everyone, and there are
rarely any leftovers since every doughnut from Tim Hortons is so tasty! On top of the
regular donuts, there are also the Timbits, which are like Dunkin’s munchkins, which
keep the count up even higher. So there you have it. Americans might be thinking that
this information is wrong, but it is the truth. Canadians eat way more doughnuts than anybody.
"well," Americans might think, "we must at least be second in the world when it comes
to doughnut consumption!" That is also not true. Canada may come first, but the country
that is a close second? Japan!
Timbits were invented 42 years ago
In the United States, the middle part that gets cut out of the doughnut is also thrown
in the fryer and called a doughnut hole. Well, that's cute, but Canadians know the truth:
those little balls of dough are Timbits. They have never been anything else but Timbits
in Canada, and they will be Timbits for the rest of time. No one really knows who was
making doughnut holes first, but one thing is for sure: for Canadians, Timbits are almost
as important as the doughnuts themselves. After all, when you're going on a long car
ride and you need some doughnuts but have to keep your hands on the wheel, Timbits are
there for you. The small, square box fits perfectly on the center console of any car
and can be easily passed around so everyone can get one. Timbits originally started out
as the middle of the doughnut being thrown into the frying oil so nothing was wasted,
but over time, they became their own thing. There are so many different flavors of Timbit
that it would be impossible to go through all of them. Needless to say, everybody has
a favorite, and the folks there definitely won't mind if you ask for 20 of the same kind
(chocolate being the most popular one). Tim Hortons also sponsors peewee hockey leagues,
and uses the word Timbits as a name, to denote the small hockey players, who might grow up
to be the next Sidney Crosby!
The Tim Hortons double-double is now in the dictionary
When people talk about Tim Hortons, it's almost impossible not to mention grabbing a "double-double."
Of course, to the folks out on the West Coast, this will seem very strange. After all, to
them, a double-double is a double cheeseburger with two slices of cheese at In-N-Out. In
Canada, though, double-double refers to getting a coffee with two creams and two sugars. It
originated as a way to order coffee at Tim Hortons, but it has since spread out to other
businesses who recognize what people are asking for when they order a double-double from them.
The term has become so entwined in Canadian culture that it even got the most prestigious
of honors, being added to the Canadian Oxford dictionary. For those of you who grew up in
the digital age, a dictionary was a big book that had pages upon pages of words and their
definitions.
Tim Hortons is the number one fast food chain in Canada
Canada has plenty of fast food to choose from. Almost as much as the United States, in fact!
Sure, Canadians won't ever really know the joy of In-N-Out or Shake Shack or some of
the other famous fast food places like Hardee's or Jack in the Box, but there's plenty to
choose from. So it might not be a surprise to learn that Tim Hortons is still the number
one fast food chain in Canada. That's not entirely surprising. The chain is ubiquitous.
Remember all those jokes in the early 2000s about how there was a Starbucks on every corner
in the United States? Canada was already like that, but with Tim Hortons. Sometimes, you
could drive through an intersection where there was one on every corner. We're not kidding!
It's the place Canadians go to get coffee, and when they need to bring doughnuts or muffins
or bagels in for their coworkers, they don't go anywhere else. Now that Tim Hortons has
expanded their menu even further to include more fast food staples, there's no way it
will stop growing. It's already the number one choice for most Canadians when it comes
to getting a nice hot cup of coffee or a baked good, and it's definitely not going away any
time soon.
Tims has a location near the Arctic Circle
You might be wondering just how far Tim Hortons can go. Well, we're here to tell you that
along with all of its worldwide locations, Tim Hortons also has locations in some of
the most remote Canadian regions. After all, even people who are so far up north that they
have to get their groceries shipped to them on a plane need to have their coffee and doughnuts.
That's why there’s even a Tim Hortons in Iqaluit, the capital of the Canadian territory
Nunavut. That town is located just slightly south of the Arctic Circle, making its Tim
Hortons location the northernmost location in the entire world! It can get pretty cold
up there, so clearly the coffee needs to be as hot as possible. Nunavut is the youngest
of all the Canadian provinces and territories, having officially come into existence in 1999.
It just goes to show that really, no matter where you are in Canada you can find your
way to a Tim Hortons and get that double-double you've been craving.
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