Tim Horton’s franchisees aiming for a shoot-out

Lynda Davis
June 23, 2017
2 Comments

I knew it. I just knew things would go south (literally) when Tim Hortons was taken over by American parent company Restaurant Brands International. RBI also owns Burger King and Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen. How can a company with holdings like those possibly understand what Timmie's means to Canadian culture? When the takeover happened in 2014, I was concerned Timmie’s would lose its Canadian identity and become just another amorphous American fast-food chain. In fact, I blogged about the issue in September 2015. Click here to read Is Timmies still a…

Sometimes . . . you just gotta have a hot dog

Lynda Davis
January 20, 2017
7 Comments

Deny. Deny. Deny. Not only was it Bill Clinton's favourite mantra, but too often our daily food choices are based on the dictates of healthy eating which are more about denying ourselves the pleasures of eating rather than indulging. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could live like Sumo wrestlers who equate big and fat with powerful and strong? Sadly, the dogma of healthy living is so ingrained in Boomers' brains that every time we enjoy a wonderful, heaven-sent slice of German chocolate cake, crispy bacon or a deliciously overflowing…

Want to start a successful business?

Lynda Davis
November 15, 2016
1 Comment

It's simple. Go into competition with Bombardier. They seem to have more business than they can handle, very little competition, a guaranteed source of financial handouts from various levels of gullible government and no particular business or management skills. Anyone can do better than that with a little business savvy, some creative thinking and an already available source of skilled workers. The recent news they were laying off 7,500 workers worldwide including 2,000 in Canada prompted me to repost a piece I wrote earlier this year about Bombardier. Here’s the…

What on earth was The Hudson’s Bay Company thinking?

Lynda Davis
November 7, 2016
7 Comments

All I want for Christmas is not Mariah Carey. The marketing people at The Hudson's Bay Company should have their Canadian citizenship revoked. My sense of national pride has been replaced by outrage over their recent selection of American "superstar" Mariah Carey to unveil the new Christmas (yes, I said Christmas, not holiday) windows in their downtown stores at Queen and Yonge Streets in Toronto. Founded more than three hundred years ago as a fur trading institution, The Hudson's Bay Company (the Canadian equivalent of Macy's) is one Canada's oldest…

Have you checked out McDonald’s lately?

Lynda Davis
June 15, 2016
0 Comments

Big things are happening under the golden arches and it started with McCafé and quality coffee to challenge Tim Hortons. I first experienced the change a few weeks ago when I encountered a large touch-screen kiosk to place my order. And, standing beside it was a real live attendant to assist this old boomer as I navigated the new technology. Not easily fooled, I quickly concluded this was just another version of printing my own boarding pass at the airport—get the customer to do the work by reducing the personal…

Is Timmies still a Canadian cultural icon?

Lynda Davis
September 11, 2015
2 Comments

Boomers remember the real Tim Horton—the handsome young hockey player who helped the Toronto Maple Leafs win four Stanley Cups back in the sixties. Tim Horton was killed in a tragic car crash in 1974 shortly after one of his entrepreneurial endeavours had just started up. Tim Hortons was originally just a system of franchised donut/coffee shops in Ontario and grew to become a national icon, representing everything Canadian. In fact, I think they should change their corporate colours to red and white. Is there a Canadian alive who hasn't…