Tim Hortons

  • Doughnut holes or Timbits – whatever they’re called, toilets need to work

    Posted: March 25th, 2010 - 9:13am by Doug Powell

    Yesterday I had to explain how doughnut holes are called Timbits in Canada.

    A couple of colleagues came over to the house for a meeting, and I provided fruit and pastries, including the popular doughnut holes.

    Tim Hortons, the Canadian money-making machine named after former hockey defenceman, Tim Horton, introduced the Timbit in 1976, and the term has become synonymous in the north with doughnut hole.

    Whatever they’re called, they’re going to come out eventually. An Edmonton man who claims things literally went into the toilet for him after going to a south-side Tim Hortons has launched a lawsuit against the coffee shop giant.

    Gerbrand Denes is suing Tim Hortons Inc. and Tim Hortons Canada Holdings for $121,000.

    Denes alleges he was a paying customer at a Tim Hortons restaurant at 2133 99 St. on the evening of March 13, 2008, and had to use the washroom.

    While “in the normal course of using” the facilities, Denes claims the toilet seat broke, which caused him to fall into the toilet and then onto the floor.

    As a result of the fall – which he says was caused solely by the negligence of Tim Hortons – Denes alleges he sustained serious and permanent injuries.

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    Wacky and Weird  |  1 Comment
    Doughnut, holes, Lawsuit, Tim Hortons, timbits, Toilet
  • Restaurants proud to show off their history of food hygiene awards

    Posted: January 26th, 2010 - 3:19pm by Katie Filion

    Author: 
    Katie Filion

    Before heading to the airport yesterday I stopped into a café, and although I miss the toonie Tim Hortons bagel (mine was 8.50 $NZ), I was impressed to see I was dining somewhere that values food safety. There at the counter was a Wellington City Council “Excellent” certificate, and two others from previous years.

    It’s good see operators recognizing the marketing potential of a restaurant inspection disclosure program, however, there can be issues with operators displaying expired certificates. In a discussion with an inspector recently, she voiced the issues she had with restaurants keeping their old letter grade cards. Although it can show a great history of food safety inspections, if a restaurant is downgraded keeping the other cards displayed may get confusing.
     

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    Restaurant Inspection  |  0 Comments
    Market Food Safety, New Zealand, restaurant grading, Tim Hortons
  • Pic of mouse in doughnut shop allows Tim Horton's to enter New York City - giv'r

    Posted: July 11th, 2009 - 9:24am by Doug Powell

    Tim Hortons, which the N.Y. Times described yesterday as “a Canadian purveyor of doughnuts and coffee that has won a wide following,” is making a sudden entry into New York City, primarily because of a picture of a mouse.

    Between Friday night and dawn on Monday, the Riese Organization intends to convert 13 Dunkin’ Donuts stores into the city’s first Tim Hortons restaurants, including early-morning, high-traffic shops like the one in Pennsylvania Station and another next to the New York Stock Exchange. The switch may surprise regular customers of the shops, said Dennis Riese, chief executive of the Riese Organization.

    “You take down one sign and put up another. The biggest challenge will be to get New Yorkers to know what Tim Hortons is.”

    Tim Hortons Inc. is a Canadian fast food restaurant known for its coffee and doughnuts, founded in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario by Canadian hockey player Tim Horton. In 1967 Horton partnered with investor Ron Joyce, who quickly took over operations and expanded the chain into a multi-million dollar franchise. There are almost 3,000 Tim Hortons in Canada, and another 5-0 in the U.S. The chain accounted for 22.6 per cent of all fast food industry revenues in Canada in 2005. Canada has more per-capita ratio of doughnut shops than any other country.

    Tim Horton was a bruising defenceman who won 4 Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1960s. Born in 1930 in Cochrance, Ontario, Horton spent his formative years playing in mining communities surrounding Sudbury, Ontario. He got noticed by the Leafs organization and moved to Toronto when he was 17-years-old. He died in a car accident in 1974 after a 24-year National hockey League career.

    Horton had a reputation for enveloping players who were fighting him in a crushing bear hug. Boston Bruins winger Derek Sanderson once bit Horton during a fight; years later, Horton's widow, Lori, still wondered why. "Well," Sanderson replied, "I felt one rib go, and I felt another rib go, so I just had—to, well, get out of there!”

    The Times reports that the arrival of Tim Hortons to N.Y. City comes after a decade of contention between Riese and Dunkin’ Donuts that peaked after The New York Post published a photo of a mouse munching on a doughnut in a shop operated by Riese on 46th Street at Fifth Avenue. The chain sued Riese, and the sides eventually agreed that the relationship would end this week in what Dunkin’ Donuts called a “disenfranchisement.”

    In Canada, owning a Tim Hortons is like owning a license to print money.
     

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    Food Safety Culture  |  1 Comment
    Canada, Doughnut, Hockey, New York City, Tim Hortons
  • Hepatitis A at Newmarket, Ontario Tim Hortons

    Posted: April 26th, 2009 - 4:19pm by Ben Chapman

    The Toronto Star reports that a health alert was issued today after it was discovered that two employees of a Newmarket Tim Hortons were found infected with Hepatitis A.

    York Region Public Health was notified of a case of hepatitis A at the Tim Hortons at 16545 Yonge St., near Savage Rd., on April 21. Following the initial investigation, it was decided the risk to customers was very low based on the employee’s position.

    "He was not involved in food handling," said York Region medical officer of health Dr. Karim Kurji. "Given that, we didn’t feel the need to notify the public."

    Oops, because...

    The next day investigators conducted routine tests and offered immunization to workers. These tests revealed a second case, which was discovered on April 24. It was decided the risk of contamination to the public in this case was higher.

    "The overall assessment when investigating the risk with the second case was the employee was handling food," said Kurji. "It was prudent for us to reach out to public and take necessary precautions.

    York Region Public Health is holding a vaccine clinic Monday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Newmarket Health Centre. People who ate food from this Tim Hortons between April 13 and April 22 are eligible for the vaccine. However, anyone who ate there between April 2 and April 22 could be infected.

    Hep A happens a lot, but the way this one has been handled raises a few questions for me:

    I wonder why the folks who ate at the Hortons before April 13th are excluded from eligibility from the vaccine? Does someone need to prove (with a receipt?) that they ate there between April 13 and 22nd? Who bears the cost if someone wants to get an IGG shot and is excluded? What happens if that individual gets sick?

    This week's food safety infosheet was about Hep A in a produce handler in Colorado.

     

     

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    Hepatitis A  |  0 Comments
    Food Handler, Tim Hortons, Vaccination