Tim Hortons set to open in Sheffi eld.

Iconic Canadian restaurant brand, Tim Hortons®, has announced the arrival of its fi rst drive-thru restaurant in Yorkshire, choosing Sheffi eld - home of the Steelers - as the location for its new venue.

The brand - which was founded in 1964 by Canadian ice hockey player Tim Horton - is famed for its signature coffee, delicious donuts and Canadian charm, and plans to open its doors there in summer 2021.

Located at the Crystal Peaks Village Retail Park, the new venue will offer dine-in seating for up to 118 guests and drive-thru services for those on the go. Delivery options will also be made available to those in the local area following the launch.

The new restaurant will create over 50 jobs for the local community and will offer a combination of full-time and parttime roles with progression and training opportunities, say the company. The announcement also forms part of the brand’s plan to create over 2,000 jobs across the country, bringing Tim Hortons restaurants to every major town and city by 2022.

Kevin Hydes, chief commercial offi cer of Tim Hortons franchise in the UK commented: “As we continue our expansion across the UK, we knew it was only a matter of time before we found the perfect location to bring our fi rst Tim Hortons drive-thru to Yorkshire. We’ve had huge demand to bring the brand to Sheffi eld and it really excites us to be launching in a city famed for its Ice Hockey and presence within the Elite League.

“We look forward to engaging with the Sheffi eld community and are proud to be offering over 50 career opportunities for locals. We are recruiting for a variety of full and parttime roles and would love to hear from all those passionate about a career in hospitality, no matter the experience. We are accepting applications from today via our website.”

The iconic Canadian brand made its way to the United Kingdom in 2017, bringing premium coffee, freshly baked goods, delicious sandwiches and wraps, and other food products to Brits with the fi rst restaurant opening on Argyle Street, Glasgow, in June 2017.

There are currently 27 restaurants in the UK with a fl agship location in Leicester city centre (www.timhortons.co.uk).

Cafe2U’s franchisees serve up record sales

Coffee van franchise and mobile cafe provider, Cafe2U, has seen both a boost in recruitment with 14 new franchise partners joining the business in the last year and now record sales for its franchisees, all despite the challenges faced during the pandemic, report the brand.

When the fi rst lockdown hit in March 2020 the company’s sales initially plummeted, however, their savvy entrepreneurs were able to keep their business ticking over by pivoting their business model to unlock new channels of trade, they found.

Seeing their regular customers at offi ce blocks disappear overnight, Cafe2U’s mobile coffee vans began servicing key workers through lockdown. This saw high demand from NHS sites, police, building sites and garages. Many of its franchisees also started branching out into supplying the demand for those having to work at home.

The success seen by Cafe2U’s franchisees has also been due in part to a number of emerging trends with coffee and mobile catering across the pandemic, not least the fact that with at home workers now becoming ‘at home baristas’ too, consumers are demanding higher quality in all areas, from the grade of coffee beans to the craftsmanship of the overall drink.

However, home delivery has been a good business model, they report, with customers valuing not just the coffee but the social interaction with their baristas. At the same time, 2020 saw a surge of independent coffee roasters now offering retail coffee subscriptions through the post catering to the more demanding consumer, they observed.

In addition to this, convenience has still proven to be a growing factor in coffee drinkers’ habits - a trend Cafe2U had previously identifi ed pre-pandemic. As such, online ordering has been very popular and Cafe2U’s franchisees were able to smartly capitalise on this with the launch of the Cafe2U app. Its functionality includes online ordering, allowing customers to track their barista to the door and enjoy a safe and contactless experience. The app was rolled out in 2020, a move that some may have seen as risky in the initial lockdown uncertainty, but one which has ultimately paid off for its franchisees.

Martyn Ward, CEO at Cafe2U said: “The lasting legacy of the impact the coronavirus has had on the coffee to go industry will be positive for consumers and small coffee companies alike with superior quality and growing demand for convenience.

“This year Cafe2U will continue to push its franchise recruitment and is aiming to grow on the success of 2020 and make 2021 even better. Hopefully this will also set a positive example for others that businesses can still survive and fl ourish in these unprecedented times.”