Tim Hortons Arriving in Capital Area — at UAlbany

Steve Barnes reports at The Times Union that Tim Hortons, a 46-year-old Canadian chain of coffee and doughnut shops, will open its first Capital Region location in the fall, at the University at Albany’s Campus Center.

The arrival seems a likely indicator of more local Tim Hortons to come, in plazas and as standalone stores, given the company’s precedent of growth once it moves into a region. Elsewhere in the state, there are dozens of shops from Syracuse to Buffalo, eight Manhattan locations and one in Plattsburgh. The chain includes 2,800 stores across Canada and 500 in the U.S.

The detail about Tim Hortons at UAlbany is included in the current isue of the Albany Student Press, the campus newspaper. The coffee shop and a Cold Stone Creamery are being built in a Campus Center space that currently houses a spot called Corner Cafe, according to the report.

Tim Hortons will be open to the public, though I don’t envision anyone who isn’t already on campus being a customer. During the day, finding a free parking spot or paying for parking then hiking across campus to get a cup of coffee is the opposite of convenience, especially when there are Dunkin’ Donuts locations on the main roads flanking UAlbany’s north and south sides.

I’ve never been to a Tim Hortons. Is it just another Dunkin/Starbucks?

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