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The lab store at the base of Tim Hortons Inc.’s headquarters in downtown Toronto opened in the summer of 2019 to much fanfare, promising “a modern interpretation” of the aging coffee shop brand. The chain was trying new things, such as selling fancier doughnuts and pouring lattes from a tap like draft beer in a pub. People lined up to get inside.
More than two years later, Tim Hortons has closed its so-called innovation cafe for good, blaming the pandemic that emptied Toronto’s financial district of all its coffee-drinking office workers.
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A sign of maturity or the times? Tim Hortons closes its much ballyhooed innovation cafe
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A sign of maturity or the times? Tim Hortons closes its much ballyhooed innovation cafe
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As many people work remotely during the pandemic, the city’s downtown core has become a ghost town and there is less need for a cup of joe, a doughnut, muffin, or even a lobster bisque at the higher-end coffee shop.
“The reality of COVID-19 has meant that the downtown core has been largely vacant for 13 months and will likely continue to be for the unforeseeable future,” the company said in an email. “Tim Hortons 130 King was one of several innovative restaurants that we developed where we try new menu innovations and new design concepts as we continue to grow and evolve the Tim Hortons brand.