When residents of Kitchener’s Central Frederick neighbourhood learned a Tim Hortons with a drive-thru was planning to take over part of the Frederick Street Mall parking lot, they weren’t happy.
“It was a pretty instantaneous outcry that the community didn’t want a drive-thru here,” says neighbourhood association president Laura McBride.
“Sometimes newer isn’t necessarily better.”
It wasn’t just environmental concerns that had many upset.
Residents felt they weren’t given enough time to make the case against the plan for a 55-seat restaurant – some learned of the project only a day before the deadline for public comment.
Also questioned was the necessity of another Tim Hortons in the neighbourhood – there are already three within a four-minute drive.
Still, the project is moving ahead, with construction likely starting in the corner of the parking lot at Frederick and Edna streets this fall.
Moe Bindra, who co-owns a Coffee Time restaurant inside the mall, isn’t happy about the increased competition.
He says he the mall owners promised him exclusivity among restaurants selling coffee, donuts, muffins and bagels – a clause they’re now trying to extricate themselves from.
“I want to keep the Coffee Time,” he tells CTV.
“I have a regular flow of customers. We’re like a family.”
McBride says the neighbourhood association will push Tim Hortons to build the new location with materials that blend into the neighbourhood more than a traditional outlet, and to ensure litter doesn’t become an issue.
