1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,199 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,640 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: show for those who can never know enough about history. 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lucier and in this episode, we're celebrating the 5 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: birth of a quintessential Canadian brand, one that's still baking 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: and brewing after sixty years in County. The day was 7 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:38,879 Speaker 1: May seventeenth, nineteen sixty four, the first Tim Horton Donuts 8 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: shop opened in Hamilton, Ontario. The brainchild of entrepreneur Jim 9 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: Sharad and the store's namesake professional hockey player Tim Horton, 10 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: the brand has gone on to become a ubiquitous part 11 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: of Canadian culture. It represents roughly seventy percent of the 12 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: pastries and coffee market in the country today, and although 13 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,319 Speaker 1: tim Horton's This is now an international chain with more 14 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:06,680 Speaker 1: than fifty six hundred locations in sixteen different countries, it 15 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:12,039 Speaker 1: is and will always be a Canadian original. Miles Gilbert 16 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: tim Horton was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played 17 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: professionally for several teams, including a twenty season run with 18 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: the Toronto Maple Leafs in the early nineteen sixties. He 19 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:26,679 Speaker 1: also sold cars during the off season to make some 20 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: extra money, and one of his customers was independent businessman 21 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: Jim Sharad. After leaving his job as manager of a 22 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: Scarborough donut plant, Sharad spent several years trying to get 23 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: his own coffee and donut shop off the ground. He 24 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,839 Speaker 1: hadn't had much luck, though, so after running into Tim 25 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: Horton and buying a Pontiac from him, Sharrod tried to 26 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: convince the hockey star to go into the restaurant business 27 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: with him. Sharrod figured that Horton's famous name would give 28 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: him a leg up on the competition, and from the 29 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 1: athlete's perspective, owning a business was a lot more appealing 30 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: than working on commission. The only thing was Tim Horton 31 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: didn't want to sell donuts. He wanted to sell Hamburgers. 32 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: Sharad agreed to make the switch, but he also worked 33 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 1: out a separate deal to license Horton's name for use 34 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: at his existing donut shop. That location, known as the 35 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:24,640 Speaker 1: Tim Horton Donut with a hyphen, became the first doughnut 36 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: store to bear the athlete's name, but the first official 37 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: Tim Horton's franchise was still a year and a half away. 38 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 1: In the spring of nineteen sixty three, Charad and Horton 39 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: formed Tim and Jim Limited and quickly opened a string 40 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: of burger and hot dog joints called Tim Horton drive Ins. Unfortunately, 41 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: burgers weren't as big a draw as Horton had hoped, 42 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: and after a year of struggling sales, the pair circled 43 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: back to donuts. By that point, Sharad had lost a 44 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: lot of money opening failed restaurants, so for his next 45 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: doughnut van vure, he wanted to give franchising a shot. 46 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: That way, he could sell the franchise rights, equipment and 47 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: supplies to an owner operator and then show them how 48 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: to run it in exchange for a cut of the profits. 49 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 1: Franchising made no difference to Tim Horton, as at the 50 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,920 Speaker 1: time he was still just licensing his name for the 51 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: doughnut business and didn't have a stake in it like 52 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: he did for the drive ins. The franchiseee of the 53 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: first Tim Horton's location was a twenty one year old 54 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: Toronto bank clerk named Spencer Brown. His location opened on 55 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: May seventeenth, nineteen sixty four, on the site of an 56 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: old gas station in Hamilton, Ontario. The shop sold cups 57 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: of coffee for ten cents and doughnuts for sixty nine cents, 58 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: although at first there were only two varieties to choose from, 59 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: apple fritters and Duchies, which are square yeast donuts with 60 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: raisins and a sugary glaze. Located in Hamilton's industrial East End, 61 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: the first Tim Hortons was an immediate hit with the 62 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:05,360 Speaker 1: workers at nearby steel plants, but behind the scenes, Spencer 63 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 1: Brown and Jim Sharad were constantly butting heads. The relationship 64 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,119 Speaker 1: grew so hostile that Brown walked away from the business, 65 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 1: and while Sharad was able to find a new franchisee, 66 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 1: they didn't last long either. Around the same time, in 67 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: early nineteen sixty five, Tim Horton became an equal partner 68 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,799 Speaker 1: in Charad's donut business, which was then incorporated as Tim 69 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: Donut Limited. Now working together, the pair found a third 70 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,720 Speaker 1: franchise ee for the Hamilton store, Ron Joyce, a former 71 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:42,039 Speaker 1: police officer turned successful dairy queen operator. Joyce proved such 72 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: a good fit with the company that he eventually replaced 73 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: Charad in the donut chain of command. Becoming a full 74 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:52,720 Speaker 1: partner with Horton in nineteen sixty seven. By the end 75 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:55,720 Speaker 1: of that year, the new partners had grown the franchise 76 00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: chain to include three locations in Hamilton and a fourth 77 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,160 Speaker 1: in w Waterloop. In the years ahead, Horton would take 78 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:07,280 Speaker 1: an increasingly active role in the business, especially in scouting 79 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: and choosing new locations. Sadly, Horton's role in the company 80 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,480 Speaker 1: wouldn't last long. On the morning of February twenty first, 81 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy four, he died in a tragic car crash 82 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: at the age of forty four. One year later, Ron 83 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: Joyce paid Horton's family one million dollars for their share 84 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: of the company, which by then was the third largest 85 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 1: fast food chain in Canada. Joyce continued opening new franchises 86 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 1: throughout the country and made sure to keep Hockey at 87 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:40,480 Speaker 1: the center of the company's marketing, as it still is today. 88 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:45,279 Speaker 1: Joyce also expanded the store's menu beyond the standard coffee 89 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,280 Speaker 1: and donuts. One of the most famous editions came in 90 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:51,840 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy six, when the company introduced its take on 91 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,440 Speaker 1: doughnut holes, which it called timbits, a play on the 92 00:05:55,440 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: word tidbit. By that point, the roughly one hundred locuts 93 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: had all adopted the uniform branding of tim Horton's rather 94 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:08,600 Speaker 1: than tim Horton Donuts. The familiar signs became a fixture 95 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:11,839 Speaker 1: of the Canadian landscape, and a trip to Timmy's became 96 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: a weekly treat or a daily ritual for coffee drinkers 97 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: and doughnut munchers all over the country. This connection was 98 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,160 Speaker 1: so strong that the company and its customers began to 99 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: develop their own secret shorthand. For instance, you wouldn't find 100 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: the words double double on the official menu, but if 101 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: you ordered one, you'd invariably get a coffee with two 102 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:38,480 Speaker 1: creams and two sugars. The phrase eventually became so commonplace 103 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: that it was even added to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary 104 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:45,359 Speaker 1: in two thousand and four. While that's an impressive claim 105 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 1: to fame, the most interesting terminology connected to the brand 106 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 1: might just be the name itself. It started out as 107 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: tim Horton's, with a possessive apostrophe before the s. That 108 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 1: makes the most grammatical sense, as the name refers to 109 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: a business that was at one time owned by Tim Horton, 110 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 1: but starting in nineteen ninety three, the apostrophe was removed, 111 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: making the name plural rather than possessive. The company wasn't 112 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: rebranding itself as a gathering place for people named tim Horton, 113 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 1: So what prompted the change. The answer, as it turns out, 114 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:26,480 Speaker 1: is Canadian law. Quebec's language laws in particular, passed in 115 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy seven, Bill one oh one made French the 116 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: sole official language of the Quebec Province. As a result, 117 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:39,600 Speaker 1: all product labels, restaurant menus, and storefront signs were required 118 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: to be written in French. That's where tim Horton's ran 119 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 1: into trouble, as the possessive apostrophe is a uniquely English 120 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: punctuation mark. The company was able to fly under the 121 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,840 Speaker 1: radar for a while, but pro French advocates eventually began 122 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 1: to cry foul. This left the company with two options 123 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 1: adopt separate branding for its Quebec locations or drop the 124 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:06,120 Speaker 1: apostrophe in all markets. And since it costs a lot 125 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 1: more to print two kinds of napkins, tim Horton's ditched 126 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 1: the possessive and has been inexplicably plural ever since. The 127 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:16,720 Speaker 1: move proved to be the right one in the coming 128 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,080 Speaker 1: years as the company expanded both to the United States 129 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: and to other foreign markets where the possessive apostrophe also 130 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: wouldn't have made sense. In a strange twist, the Tim 131 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 1: Hortons brand has since been sold not once but twice 132 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: to fast food burger chains. The first time was to 133 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,400 Speaker 1: Wendy's in nineteen ninety five, and the second was to 134 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: the Brazilian firm three G Capital, the parent company of 135 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: Burger King, in twenty fourteen. As an American, I find 136 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:49,200 Speaker 1: it oddly fitting that the Tim Horton name should once 137 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 1: again have an unexpected link to Hamburgers, but understandably, many 138 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: Canadians have mixed feelings about their home grown fast food 139 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:01,440 Speaker 1: chain being sold to a foreign investment and firm. The 140 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,840 Speaker 1: good news is that so far the company seems committed 141 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: to remembering where it came from. For example, the original 142 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: Tim Horton shop in Hamilton is still going strong today, 143 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 1: and in twenty fourteen a second floor was added to 144 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:18,679 Speaker 1: house a museum dedicated to the history of the chain 145 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: and its founder. It features memorabilia from all six decades 146 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 1: of the restaurant's history, and right out front there's a 147 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 1: bronze statue of Tim Horton in full hockey gear. It's 148 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:33,560 Speaker 1: a nice reminder that no matter who owns the brand, 149 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:36,840 Speaker 1: it's still a coffee and doughnut chain named after a 150 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: hockey player, and that sounds pretty Canadian to me. I'm 151 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 1: Gabe Bluesyay, and hopefully you now know a little more 152 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:52,040 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. If you'd like 153 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 1: to keep up with the show, you can follow us 154 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and 155 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 1: if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to 156 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: send them my way by writing to This Day at 157 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:09,440 Speaker 1: iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Cas B. Bias for producing 158 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:12,160 Speaker 1: the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll see 159 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in History class.