Winnipeg's Exchange District | East/West | Development

[esquire]

Originally Posted by OTA in Winnipeg

It was a Tim's. It closed over 20 years ago if I'm not mistaken. And it was designed more like a Robin's than the way are set up now, and no drive thru of course.

I think it closed around 2000 or so, right around the time that the Tim Hortons opened up in Portage Place. I remember working at City Hall as a student in the summer of 2001 and I never visited Tim Hortons once, so it must have been closed by then?

[buzzg]

I didn't even know we had Tims here at that point, haha. It was always Robins everywhere for me. And Second Cup..

[esquire]

Originally Posted by buzzg

I didn't even know we had Tims here at that point, haha. It was always Robins everywhere for me. And Second Cup..

There weren't many of them before the mid 90s Tim's boom, that's for sure. Robin's used to dominate the donut shop market locally until Tim's started expanding rapidly. I remember there was a Tims forever up on north Main near Leila ("forever" to me means going back sometime to the 80s), and that one in the Exchange. I'm sure there were other Tim's locations prior to the mid 90s, but I don't really remember them.

Some other players entered the market in the 90s... Coffee Time and Country Style, but they, like Robin's, got practically obliterated by the Tim's juggernaut.

[TimeFadesAway]

Originally Posted by esquire

It was a Tim's at least it was as far back as I can remember going back to the late 90s. But it looked and felt like a Robin's. (Perhaps it was originally a Robin's in the early 1980s? I don't recall any signs of that in its Tims incarnation, though)

It was a Tims in the late '80s. The father of a guy I went to school with owned it at that time.

[buzzg]

Yeah, and the premium places like Timothy's, Second Cup, and Grabba Jabba got destroyed by Starbucks.

Canadians seem to be way more dedicated to the trendy/popular place than in the States, at least when it comes to F&B. Like Starbucks is pretty much the only major premium coffee shop left, Second Cup is likely next but WAY behind and closing stores. Tims wiped out all the cheap coffee shops. Subway has destroyed Quiznos and Mr. Sub.

Like surely there is enough room for more than one major player in a lot of these categories, but it just doesn't seem to happen. Maybe Cory has some insights into this?

[Urban recluse]

TH is disgusting; that is not good coffee.

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

TH is disgusting; that is not good coffee.

To call that coffee would be overly generous. And yet people still flock there. Damn corporate marketing schemes!

[Urban recluse]

It shows how many people have no palate.

[OTA in Winnipeg]

You're right about Tim's. Nothing special about their coffee at all. Salz has great coffee comparitively and even McDonald's has better coffee.

Mr. Sub and Robin's fell by the wayside because the corporation tried to force franchisees to bear the cost of modern renovations. At least that's what I was told by a couple of them that jumped ship.

[Urban recluse]

McD's coffee is decent.

[esquire]

Tim's is terrible yet each one has a lineup. Go figure.

[OTA in Winnipeg]

Sheep

[cllew]

Originally Posted by esquire

I think it closed around 2000 or so, right around the time that the Tim Hortons opened up in Portage Place. I remember working at City Hall as a student in the summer of 2001 and I never visited Tim Hortons once, so it must have been closed by then?

For some reason I thought it closed there and relocated to the RRCC Princess St. campus. And I might be wrong but I think there is office space on the 2nd floor that was used at one time was the office for the District Mangers for Tim Hortons.

[esquire]

I don't recall exactly when the PSC Tim's opened... was it there when the campus opened its doors? That must have been around 2003 IIRC. Probably about the time the Portage Place Tim's opened. I think there was a brief lag between when the Notre Dame store closed and the others opened... maybe about a year or so with no Tim's whatsoever downtown (gasp). I don't remember what I did back then... I think I mostly just drank office coffee. Good old Mother Parker's brewed on a Bunn-o-Matic... mmm... tastes like university summer office jobs.

[buzzg]

PSC opened in 2004 and I'm pretty sure Tims was there from the start.

[OTA in Winnipeg]

What is PSC?

[buzzg]

Princess Street Campus - what is now the RRC Roblin Centre.

[trueviking]

Sorry it's so big. Posted from my phone.

[buzzg]

Anyone know if there would be any regulations against balconies there? Like why not give the apartments small balconies for a bistro set or bbq? I just don't understand Juliet balconies and the point of having a door if you can't go out it... just put in a big window that opens.

[Urban recluse]

Thanks for the photo B.

Yeah, don't get the whole Juliet balcony thang.