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Coffee Time

I just recently found out that the company who owns Coffee Time also owns '241 Pizza' and 'The Friendly Greek'. Had no idea. I don't see many 241 Pizza's around anymore, they also used to be everywhere.
 
Skeezix said:
A bit further afield, but I noticed for the first time this past week that the Coffee Time at Queen and Coxwell is gone.
Click to expand...

Hmm, interesting. That's the one I associate with Ashbridge's Bay firework pitstops...
 
And the Jane subway CT remains. At this point, it might as well be branded "historic".
 
Unfortunately, the Coffee Time at Eglinton and Chaplin would be replaced by an LRT station. Fortunately, it would be replaced by something that is not covered by EIFS, unlike that former Coffee Time.

At least there is still a Coffee Time at Eglinton and Winona between Oakwood and Eglinton West (future Cedarvale) stations. This location even has a few desktop computers.
 
As much as I have tried to get into Coffee Time, the quality and selection of donuts is terrible. Even Country Style is better and even they are having a hard time surviving it seems

Perhaps the next big thing will be premium donuts like Jelly Modern which at least tries to be somewhat organic
 
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Coffee Time = Where cops go to do drug busts. They own Eggsmart (the one on Bay near Dundas is always busy on weekends. Basically tourists who just want to grab a sit down breakfast. They just need to go a few blocks south and they'll get to Eggspectation, Better food there. I call Eggsmart, Eggsdumb).
 
When exactly did Coffee Time start to go down hill?

There was a Coffee Time at Jones and Danforth in the 80s and it was a safe, relatively clean place that had a bunch of Greek and Italian regulars. The coffee was fresh and donuts were actually edible.
 
mjl08 said:
When exactly did Coffee Time start to go down hill?

There was a Coffee Time at Jones and Danforth in the 80s and it was a safe, relatively clean place that had a bunch of Greek and Italian regulars. The coffee was fresh and donuts were actually edible.
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I think there were at least a few assaults/shootings involving Coffee Time

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/kicking-coffee-time/article22732550/
http://www.citynews.ca/2010/12/10/siu-investigating-after-shooting-on-weston-road/
http://www.citynews.ca/2015/12/31/machete-attack-at-coffee-time-sends-one-man-to-hospital/
http://torontolife.com/city/life/my-life-in-street-gangs/
http://www.640toronto.com/2016/01/01/101658/
https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2009/02/13/man_shot_outside_downtown_donut_shop.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-rougher-end-of-the-danforth/article18171774/

Anyways - read back from Page 1 for a slice from the not so distant past. Eclairs from CT? *blech* Though I think Tims is suffering from the opposite problem - pests and bacteria probably won't touch their baked goods because based on the taste it's all made from I don't know, sawdust and binder.

AoD
 
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mjl08 said:
When exactly did Coffee Time start to go down hill?

There was a Coffee Time at Jones and Danforth in the 80s and it was a safe, relatively clean place that had a bunch of Greek and Italian regulars. The coffee was fresh and donuts were actually edible.
Click to expand...

It was there until a few years ago. Now a Cashmart, or some other awful thing.

I think Tim Hortons happened. Went from being market leader to market dominant, while Starbucks was at the same convincing a large segment of the market that a latte and a pain-au-chocolat was better than a cup of coffee and a doughnut. Places like Coffee Time started to get squeezed out, and franchisees started cutting back on cleaning, store upgrades, etc. Downward spiral, while Tim Hortons kept opening store after store. Then McDonald's started to get serious about coffee, and the sad and tired Coffee Times outlets were left with the dregs of the market.
 
Coffee Time is at the bottom of the coffee chain pyramid. I used to eat at them back in the late 90s when i was a poor student. They weren't as sketchy as they are now. I always ordered the sandwiches on the sub buns, they were cheap and more filling than Horton's food. Now a days i wouldn't even drink the coffee let alone eat the food.

I think the last time i was in one, was about 2 years ago. i was a in a hurry and needed a coffee, so i popped in a Coffee Time that looked exactly the same as the ones did in the 90s, and ordered a coffee and a club sandwich that was advertised on a poster hanging on the wall. The guy at the cash looked puzzled when i ordered the club, so i pointed to the poster, he laughed and said " Oh we haven't had that in a long time" It's an old sign" I said maybe you should take the damn thing down! The coffee was horrible, it was stale, I'm glad i didn't order any food.
 
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What brought Tim Horton's from a market leader to a market dominant was expansion, advertising, and, in my view, the early adoption of smoking bans in their restaurants. At one time, Tim Horton's was truly innovative. With bagels and basic sandwiches, and a smoking ban and kid-friendly items, they positioned themselves higher than what people thought of as coffee shops. You could take the family there. The stores were clean and non-smokey. Country Style tried to keep up, but Baker's Dozen and Coffee Time never bothered. Tthe ones that didn't mind cigarette smoke with their stale donuts and coffee were left to those chains and they looked comparatively worse.
 
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