Atlanta's first Tim Hortons is now open! The new coffee shop and bakery opened as part of an existing BP at the corner of North Avenue and Spring Street, just off I-85 in Midtown. The new Tim Hortons - "Tims" at 610 Spring Street - replaced what had previously been a Dunkin' franchise. The new shop marks just the second in the state following the June 2023 opening of a freestanding Tim Hortons in Columbus.
For Alibhai, 27, the new Tim Hortons is the first business she is operating personally, and she takes great pride in it, wishing to ensure all customers have a good experience.
Alibhai had the benefit of learning from some of the operational and service opportunities that have plagued the Columbus location to better prepare her and her team for success in Midtown. The Columbus unit, owned by a separate franchisee, has an overall rating of 2.4/5 on Yelp.com (17 total reviews) with the only review thus far in 2024 a one star that states: "Disappointed in coffee and food. Coffee has no flavor the food was dry ...never again...threw it away."
To combat these challenges, Alibhai tells ToNeTo Atlanta she has been slowly ramping things up - having quietly opened December 31 - to get her team prepared and trained for what she expects to be a very busy location. All baked goods are made fresh in store each day, some things like donuts and Timbits are made in small batches multiple times a day. This serves two purposes: it ensures fresh product is available throughout the day and it minimizes waste. Additionally, all team members are trained on how to bake to limit downtime.
Tim Hortons Midtown is currently open for drive-thru and take-out seven days a week from 6AM until 8PM but Alibhai tells us she plans to tweak the hours in the future and may test 24 hour service on the weekends if the business supports it.
Following the first few weeks of soft open days, Alibhai plans to host a "grand opening" during the week of January 22. Worth noting, too, is that this marks just the first of as many as five Tim Horton's that Alibhai plans to open in metro Atlanta. Other locations are being considered in DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties, which could include both standalone and C-store paired units.
Once part of the Wendy's company, Tim Hortons was purchased by Burger King owner Restaurant Brands International (RBI) for $11.4 billion in 2014.
In addition to the Columbus and Midtown restaurants, other locations are reportedly in the works at Tara Boulevard and Edgemoor Avenue in Jonesboro, Highway 34 and Posey Road in Newnan and along Peachtree Parkway in Suwanee.
Tim Hortons has said that through its franchise partners it plans to have as many as 30 locations open in Georgia by 2027.
Shipley Do-Nuts, another regionally popular donut shop, entered the Georgia market this past March with an outpost in Cumming. Another location slated for Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth has seemingly been shelved indefinitely, with Shipley's public relations team no longer responding to our requests for status updates.
Have you been to Tim Hortons in Atlanta? What is your favorite Tim Hortons menu item? If choosing between the Georgia arrivals of Tim Hortons, Shipley Do-Nuts, Dutch Bros. Coffee and Whataburger, which are you most excited about?
Please share your thoughts below.