Tim Hortons—a quick-service restaurant serving coffee, donuts, and other breakfast and lunch items—has over 5,300 stores worldwide but is best known in Canada, where it has become an icon of Canadian culture and history. Compared to the 3,500+ stores in Canada, Tim Hortons has over 600 stores throughout the United States. Recently, Tim Hortons has made a push to expand its brand and physical presence within the states. Providing the strength behind the push is the rollout of a redesigned restaurant aesthetic and branding.

During this time of brand growth, ms consultants is providing full-service design solutions for various franchisees and Tim Hortons.

As part of the new brand expansion, Tim Hortons released a brand new drive-thru only (DTO) prototype, designed by ms consultants. The approximately 900 square-foot building is a space designed exclusively for product production and service, as there is no customer seating inside the store. The efficient building footprint is intended to streamline the drive-thru customer experience while also providing a walk-up window for customers ordering online.

In addition to the development of the DTO prototype, ms consultants has been contracted by Tim Hortons to manage the updates for an additional prototype throughout 2023. Update management for the DTO prototype will be a continual effort to refine the prototype design and functionality.

The Tim Hortons projects vary from ground-up prototype restaurants to convenience-store end caps to major remodels.

A typical Tim Hortons project process:

1. Project begins with a building and/or site survey of the existing space.
2. Upon completion of the survey(s), ms works with the franchisee and Tim Hortons to develop a concept site plan and a schematic floor plan.
3. After approval of the concept plan and schematic floor plan, ms consultants provides complete architectural, site civil, MEP, and structural design services.
4. The finished product is a set of construction documents that can be submitted for permit and/or used for construction.

ms consultants has worked on multiple Tim Hortons projects throughout the United States, including Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, New York, and West Virginia.

In addition to design services, ms consultants offers permitting coordination and construction management services. The ms permitting team works with local jurisdictions on requirements and regulations so there are no surprises, and Tim Hortons locations can open when expected.

In addition to standalone locations, some Tim Hortons locations are paired with fuel and convenience stores. These projects offer a number of unique challenges in environmental compliance, fire and life safety, and traffic circulation.

ms consultants works with the franchisee and Tim Hortons to identify service priorities and to develop an effective customer flow throughout the site and the store.

Tim Hortons has identified ms consultants as a Preferred Design Consultant in their rollout program.

The Preferred Design Consultant classification allows franchisees to come to ms consultants first, knowing they are getting a full-service consultant who understands the program and the expectations of the Tim Hortons team.

By partnering with ms consultants, the franchisee benefits from a reduced project delivery timeframe, a simplified process, and a strong partnership throughout the project.

Photo Credit: Blake Tarana, Tim Hortons Franchisee