OpenFile

On the strip of College St. that defines Little Italy, restaurants, bars and cafés stretch as far as the eye can see. One of the newest is Tim Hortons, which opened last month at 745 College St. near Shaw St.

The national coffee chain’s arrival is raising eyebrows among area residents who are used to barista-brewed beverages in independent shops.

The new Tim’s sits kitty-corner to a branch of Nova Era Bakery, where manager Benvinda Dias admits she’s worried.

“They have such a strong brand that people just automatically flock to them,” Dias says. “It’s threatening to any other business that they open close to.”

Coffee orders make up about 40 per cent of her sales. The small businesses on Little Italy’s commercial strip don’t have huge marketing budgets or corporate brands, Dias says.

“It makes us all different,” she says. As for Tim Hortons? “I don’t think it’s the right neighbourhood.”

Other Little Italy coffee vendors are more optimistic. Patricia Brandão, owner of Golden Wheat, a College St. bakery that sells coffee a few blocks east near Grace St., says competition is healthy.

“I think new businesses opening in the neighbourhood should be good for everybody,” she says. “If I like a specific coffee, I’m not going to stop buying it because something else came into the neighbourhood.”

Lit Espresso Bar is also new to the area, launching at 810 College St. in May. It had barely been open a month when the coffee giant moved in down the road. But even though the big brand’s name means instant clientele, Lit owner Nicole Angelotti says their customers are simply different.

“I thought about it for a few days, and I don’t feel that it’s really affected us,” she says.

“Our customer base really cares a lot about what they’re having. We make most of our profit off of our espresso, not our drip coffee. Most of the people who would be into the Tim Hortons scene would be someone who likes a drip coffee.

“They walked in with a huge brand; your brand has a lot of power for you. They’ve always established a great brand for themselves, and that brand sells.”

To his knowledge, says area councillor and mayoral candidate Joe Pantalone, this is the first Tim Hortons restaurant in the neighbourhood. (The closest are at Bloor St. W. and Christie St. and at Dundas St. W. and Bathurst St.)

Pantalone (Ward 19, Trinity–Spadina) has lived a few blocks away on Beatrice St. for 45 years and is confident the coffee chain’s incursion won’t have much impact on the area he knows so well.

“The nature of Little Italy is that it draws from people who’ve lived there for a long time, and people come to visit there because they enjoy the European-style atmosphere,” he says. “I don’t believe it’s really a threat to the establishments in the area, because [their nature] is such that it’s uniquely European, while Tim Hortons is a brand which tastes and feels different.”

Pantalone speculates that newcomers to the neighbourhood, such as the many university students who live there, will be drawn to Tim’s familiarity, while Little Italy’s long-time residents will remain loyal to their local favourites.

The biggest loser, he suspects, could be the Coffee Time two blocks west at College and Ossington Ave., the closest coffee chain outlet on the strip.

The owner of that franchise could not be reached for comment. The location is listed for sale and is described as a “profitable business with established clientele.”

Neither Tim Hortons’ head office nor the owner of the Tim’s at College and Shaw returned calls this week, but OpenFile will keep trying for comment.

Double-double or espresso doppio? What do you think about Tim’s coming to Little Italy?