Look Out DD, Tim Hortons Is Coming

With the extended West Coast trip on the schedule, it's going to be difficult for me to keep up with the boys. So here is something completely different for today. And yes, it's posted here and at HockeyBuzz.com because I'm a little lazy this morning. Hmmmm... maybe if I had some Tim Hortons coffee I would be more energetic.


It started with the announcement that the first Tim Hortons' kiosk would open at the Nassau Veteran's Memorial Coliseum on October 29th when the Montreal Canadiens were in town. For every Long Island hockey fan, that was a BIG announcement.

For all of us here in the suburbs who are familiar with Canadian media, we could only dream of Tim Hortons. Oh sure, those of us who have to travel to Penn Station know the one Canadian Coffee outpost nestled in the busy Penn Station concourse fighting to distinguish itself from the other more well established pick-me-up places such as Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks. Frenzied New Yorkers trying to get to work may not even notice. But to Hockey fans -- Tim Hortons is one more link to Hockey's motherland.

Tony Stabile and I search all over the concourse that Friday night in late October searching for the kiosk, but didn't notice it. We bought the coffee at one of the concession stands and took them up to the press room. Yes, I even took pictures. Hey, to me this was an event. (And Rob McGowan and some others were a little jealous.)



However, last Saturday I arrived at the Coliseum early enough to leisurely walk the concourse and located the now expanded kiosk between gates 13 and 14. It is coffee Mecca. I spent a very pleasant few minutes with the owner, an energetic man who had just come from his duties as a basketball coach, something he squeezes in between owning two Long Island restaurants.

"TimBits!" I screeched as I approached the cart. Yep, there they were. Tiny little boxes of sweet treats with the most amazing sign on the outside of each one. $3.75. What? Wait. This is the Coliseum. Land of overpriced anything.

"They're munchkins right?" And with that, the smiling face of dark haired gentleman quickly turned to disappointment. "Ugh. You had to say that." But truth is, he's going to hear that a lot. But there are big plans for this initial installation of Tim's as the company looks to establish a presence on Long Island. Yes, the seed is planted.

During our brief conversation, he excitedly told me about his plans of adding items and setting up machinery for cappucino. The coffee itself is very good and very strong. A 20oz cup is a very reasonable $2.75 which is .75 cheaper than the coffee I was buying there all along. Tim Hortons is a company that understands reasonable pricing. "I've never worked with a better company." he told me.



He also told me he's not a coffee drinker. "But we also have hot chocolate and tea!" They also have those amazing Islander ice cream pucks that looked so adorably scrumptious in the freezer case.

So look out Long Island! Timmy's is coming!