SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Tim Hortons is getting into the delivery business.
Tim Hortons catering manager Eddie Buenaventura is now taking delivery orders for the Old Airport Rd. coffee shop. - Thandiwe Vela/NNSL photo
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The popular Yk coffee shop launched the service Feb. 1 -- becoming the country's only Tim Hortons franchise to deliver -- but don't expect to have a double-double delivered to your office desk just yet.
The business move aims to rejuvenate and expand the franchise's existing catering division, according to owner Greg Barton, with full menu delivery service available for large orders only, of $50 or more.
Despite customer calls for a Tim Hortons delivery system across the country, including at least one online petition, the service is a novelty to Yellowknife, according to Tim Hortons headquarters in Oakville, Ont.
"Delivery is something that is unique to the Yellowknife market," spokesperson Michelle Robichaud told Yellowknifer. "It is not currently being offered elsewhere so it's something that we feel is right for the market in that area."
Barton said the Yellowknife Tim Hortons has been offering catering services for more than seven years, but was unable to offer delivery services for the orders without a dedicated catering manager.
Employee Eddie Buenaventura has been promoted to drive the catering division and deliveries.
"Without the delivery service you still have that catering division but it's really only about 50 per cent of what you can do if you offer the delivery service," said Barton. "You think about a typical government office -- if you're having a large meeting with a group of 12, 15 people, you don't really have the time to drive and pick up coffee and go back to meeting. So this is where the delivery service comes in.
"You pick up the phone, make the order, we bring it right to you, set it up, take it all away, and it's just a convenience we find offices and businesses really want."
Buenaventura delivers between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday to Friday, mostly pre-orders from at least a day before.
Regular restaurant and drive-thru services will not be compromised by the delivery service, Barton said.
"We don't want to overtax the existing managers and existing services with additional services so that's why we've hired this new manager, promoted him to this position, so that he can go out there and run with the whole show. And I think that's what makes this whole thing work," he said. "I think he's ready to rock and roll and make this a success."
The expansion of the catering service is not related to the franchise owner's difficulty in finding a downtown location for a second Tim Hortons, he said.
"It's just something we wanted to get back into, to expand. It was an existing division that we had before but if you offer that delivery service then it just really drives the sales up that much more."
While Tim Hortons would not release the latest rank of the Yellowknife location in sales, the location has recently been knocked out of the number one sales spot in North America by Fort McMurray, but remains in the top five.
