Cold Stone Creamery outlets at Tim Hortons to close across Canada

Dec 19 2017, 5:56 pm

Summer is just around the corner, but Canadians across the nation will not have the option to satisfy their ice cream cravings at their national doughnut eatery.

In late-February, Tim Hortons announced that it would be pulling out the Cold Stone Creamery outlets from its Canadian restaurants in an effort to focus on their core business. It would allow the company to remove Cold Stone ice cream serving bars and replace the space with express beverage lines where needed at high-traffic locations.

However, Tim Hortons will retain its Cold Stone ice cream offerings at its American locations.

 

The decision to shut down Tim Hortons’ ice cream business cost the company $19-million in the fourth quarter. It is part of a new wave of changes coming to the franchise, highlighted by the removal of 24 items that are less popular to make way for specialty and limited-time items. Menu items that will be cut include the raisin nut muffin, walnut crunch and blueberry fritter doughnuts, and sandwiches such as tuna salad.

In 2009, Tim Hortons entered a co-branding partnership with Arizona-based Cold Stone Creamery. The initial agreement began with 100 existing Cold Stone and Tim Hortons stores that would enter into a co-branding initiative: fifty stores from each brand will add the other chain’s menu to its own.

At the time, Tim Hortons COO David Clanachan said, “Co-branding allows us to leverage efficiencies and costs from a real estate and operational standpoint. And co-branding gave us the opportunity to leverage our similar customer profiles.”

Cold Stone Creamery has 1,400+ locations worldwide.

 

Featured Image: Tim Hortons

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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