:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71843922/MicrosoftTeams_image__10_.0.png)
Canadian coffee house and doughnut shop chain Tim Hortons is looking to open in Austin for the first time, as reported by Austin Business Journal in January. And the publication recently reported that the company will open 10 stores within five years under a new franchisee. There are no set locations or exact opening dates as of yet.
As part of Tim Hortons’s parent company Restaurant Brands International county-specific expansion plans, it’s partnering with franchisees Jim Kolkhort and Richard Santowski, who run Texas-area Burger Kings. The dup will oversee the Williamson County locations, with potential sites including Georgetown, Leander, and Cedar Park, aiming to open in the latter half of 2024. Kolkhort and Santowski currently run 13 Texas-area Burger Kings.
Tim Hortons’s is looking to open in Hays and Travis counties, and want to have county-specific franchisees for those locations. The company had said earlier this year that it wants to open 40 to 50 locations in the Austin area. This Texas expansion is part of a whole plan that includes locations in Florida and Georgia, according to the publication.
Tim Hortons — which is kind of like Canada’s version of Texan-based Shipley Do-Nuts — is known for its coffee, Timbits (aka doughnut holes), other breakfast items, sandwiches, wraps, and chicken strips. The shops include both drive-thru and dine-in services.
Canadian hockey player Miles “Tim” Gilbert Horton opened Tim Hortons in 1964 in Ontario. The company grew as he continued to play hockey — during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team won four Stanley Cups in total.
The first two Texas locations opened in 2022 in Katy and Houston via franchising company CSM Group, which also operates Popeyes locations in Texas, Kansas, and Missouri. Restaurant Brands International also runs Burger King and Firehouse Subs.
Update, August 15, 10:07 a.m.: This article, originally published on January 9, 2023, has been updated to include information about Tim Hortons’s Austin plans.
