Tim’s takes over, bit by bit

When he opened a small restaurant in Hamilton, Ont., in 1964, NHL star Tim Horton planned to sell coffee, doughnuts and a few of his own culinary delights. He didn’t plan to lay the foundation for a Canadian institution. But that’s exactly what he did.

A year after he opened that first store on Ottawa Street North, former Hamilton policeman Ron Joyce took over the fledgling store and opened up two more. He and Horton became full partners in 1967.

When Horton died in a car crash in 1974, Joyce bought out the athlete’s family and became sole owner of the chain, which then included 40 stores.

Joyce expanded the chain in the following years, ultimately giving Canada more donut shops per capita than any other country.

In 1995, Wendy’s International acquired the chain and merged the two companies.

As part of the deal, Joyce became the largest single shareholder of Wendy’s, even larger than the chain’s founder Dave Thomas. Joyce retired soon after.

Wendy’s sold part of Tim Hortons operations in a public offering in 2006, and distributed remaining shares to shareholders later that year.

Tim Hortons kept its operational headquarters in Oakvillle, Ont., but incorporated in Delaware.

The chain continued to expand across Canada and into a handful of U.S. states. In the summer of 2009, it opened some stores in New York City – including one at Madison Square Garden, where Horton once played as a member of the New York Rangers.

Also that summer, the company announced plans to re-organize under a new publicly traded company incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act.

Today, the chain is the fourth largest publicly traded quick service restaurant chain in North America, and the largest in Canada. It has 3,475 system-wide restaurants, including 2,939 in Canada and 536 in the United States.

The menu at Timmie’s, as it is affectionately known by Canadians, has expanded along with the chain. The chain served just coffee and doughnuts for its first decade in business. But since the mid 1970s, it has been adding items to the menu. It now offers everything from Timbits to flavoured cappuccino and chili.