Tim Horton comes back to the Twin Cities

The Canadian based company of Tim HortonTim_Hortons_US_Logo is coming back to the Twin Cities with their fast food restaurant chain.  (You may recall there was one in Hopkins that has long since closed.)   Tim Hortons has 869 restaurants in the United States, and another 3,700 restaurants around the world.   They have hired Restaurant Development Partners to own and operate their shops here, and find franchisees for some locations.  Their niche is coffee, doughnuts, breakfast sandwiches, lunch sandwiches and soups, and Cold Stone ice cream.  Reach out to Tony Strauss of Colliers for sites.

Pizza Out – Tacos In

Buffalo Wild Wings has decided to not expandrtaco-logo2 their Pizza Rev locations here in the Twin Cities, and included a $600,000 write-off in their annual report for the acquired franchise licenses.  They will keep their two locations in Hopkins and Edina open for now.   There has been five national fast-casual pizza chains enter this market since 2014, creating tough competition for all.  Buffalo Wild Wings has a minority investment in this LA based chain.

However, their R Taco (formerly Rusty Taco) restaurants appear to be doing well, and Buffalo Wild Wings is expanding this concept around the country.   Buffalo Wild Wings announced in February that they were expanding the R Taco presence and at the time had 11 locations including the Twin Cities, Dallas, Denver and Omaha.  Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Iowa are target states for R Taco, for both franchise and corporate operations.  R Taco locations are 1,800 to 2,500 square feet location, serving breakfast, lunch & dinner with craft beers and margaritas.