Original Tim Hortons Store

Location:  Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Address:  65 Ottawa St. N
Date: October 2023
Website: www.timhortons.ca

  Miles Gilbert "Tim" Horton was born in Ontario in 1930.  He was signed as a Toronto Maple Leaf hockey player in 1949. He played in the National Hockey League for 22 years and won 4 Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs.  He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977. For Canadian coffee and donut fans, he also started the Tim Hortons donut store chain.

  The very first Tim Horton Donuts opened on May 17, 1964 on Ottawa Street North in Hamilton, Ontario.  There are now over 3,500 Tim Hortons across Canada and thousands more around the world.  The very first store is still in operation and now houses a small museum on its second floor. 

 

      There is a replica of a 1960s style counter as it would have appeared in a Tim Hortons.

 

    A sign behind the counter lets you know that a dozen donuts is only $1.25. If that price is too steep for you, the day olds are half price.

 

    Another display case featured cakes and advertised that you can get a slice of pie and a coffee for $1.49. That's a mighty nice pie slice.

  The display case was full of donuts such as the butterfly donuts (above). We were not sure if these donuts had been around since the 1960s and wouldn't pay the 15 cents to find out anyways.

 

    Other display cases had some uniforms worn by Tim Hortons staff through the years.

 

    Tim Horton played for 4 different teams in his NHL career but is best known for wearing the Toronto Maple Leafs uniform.

   A statue of Tim Horton stands on the street outside of the first store. Tim Horton died in 1974 and his business partner Ron Joyce became sole owner of the company.

      In Buffalo, New York, USA there is another statue of Tim Horton.  He played with the Buffalo Sabres from 1972 until his death in 1974. Tim Horton crashed his car travelling alone from Toronto to Buffalo after a hockey game. It wouldn't be until 1985 when the first US Tim Hortons opened in Amherst, New York.

    Tim Horton and his wife are buried in York Cemetery in North York which is part of Toronto, Ontario.

   While in Toronto you can see another statue of Tim Horton in Legends Row. Legends Row is located outside of the Scotiabank Arena and honours Toronto Maple Leaf greats.

    Tim Horton had started a Children's Camp to help children from underpriviledged families. There were dishes in the display cases showing some of the camps.

  The museum had various glasses, mugs, donut bags and Timbit merchandise. The Timbit was introduced at Tim Hortons in 1976.

   Timbits are a donut ball or donut hole. Some people believe they are made by punching out the centre of round donuts. As you can see at the top of this display case is a Timbit roller designed to specially cut out the ball shape from a sheet of dough.

    Tim Hortons collaborated once with Canadian pop star Justin Bieber where he chose his favourite styles of Timbits.

      Tim Hortons is also known for its successful Roll Up The Rim contest. It was started in 1986 and if you rolled up the rim of your coffee cup you could win food prizes or even a car. The cup in the top left corner was the earliest on display. It was from the contest held in 1991. 

     If you get the chance you should visit the Tim Hortons in Hamilton for a little Canadian history.  This is one museum where you can have food and drink while you browse the exhibits. By food and drink we mean coffee and doughnuts!

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Map of Our World
Tim Hortons First Store & Museum

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Post # 329