Open-concept seating, red bar stools and plenty of wood accents are among the interior design changes coming to Tim Hortons locations across Canada in a renovation billed at more than half a billion dollars.
The popular coffee shop chain announced the $700-million major investment Tuesday. The updated design will be rolled out across a majority of Tim Hortons locations nation-wide over the next four years.
The company released photos of the redesign, which includes cherry-red bar stools, high-top tables in a lighter shade of wood and brassy metallic light fixtures.
The company said the stores will be designed with 鈥渘atural looking, lighter and more inviting materials.鈥� Glass, wood and dark metal are a common theme.
Stores will undergo renovations both inside and out. One mock-up photo shows a combination of wood paneling and white brick on the store鈥檚 exterior. The company is keeping its red-cursive logo.
New artwork will be installed in stores. A wall mosaic including donuts, a mixer and some of the brand鈥檚 vintage packaging will grace the walls, and the company has commissioned a portrait of its namesake, hockey player Tim Horton.
The open-concept seating plan is meant to 鈥渇oster a sense of community at the core of the Tim Hortons brand,鈥� the company said in a press release.
The company said restaurant owners are also investing in the $700-million project.
The announcement comes during a lag in business for the brand, which last month
Some Tim Hortons franchisees have voiced frustration with parent company Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI). A minimum wage increase of about 20 per cent in Ontario prompted the company to hike prices 10 per cent on all menu items -- a move that some franchisees argue isn鈥檛 enough to offset the change.
Some franchisees responded by cutting back dental and health-care benefits, triggering a wave of protests across the province.
RBI, which dictates prices at Tim Hortons stores, has denounced the franchisees鈥� actions and refused to further increase prices.
The decision has prompted criticism from the Great White North Franchisee Association, an unsanctioned franchisee group.
The association advised its members -- which make up about half of all Tim Hortons Canadian franchisees -- not to sign or agree to anything until more details are disclosed.
"This is just one more in the string of ill-conceived programs brought forward by a group of executives who do not understand foodservice, franchise operations or marketing," reads a letter to the association鈥檚 members.
With files from The Canadian Press
