A book review of Always Fresh: The Untold Story of Tim Hortons by the Main Who Created a Canadian Empire by Ron Joyce with Robert Thompson
Stars: ****
HarperCollins (2006)
Memoir
251 pages
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Summary: Almost every town has at least one Tim Hortons franchise. Many know that it was hockey legend Tim Horton who opened the first restaurant, but few know the inside story of Ron Joyce, who, after the death of Horton, grew the company into a colossal North American enterprise. Always Fresh is Joyce’s own story about the much-loved business that has become a cultural tradition, from 1964 and the first almost-failed Tim Hortons to Joyce’s decision to sell the company to Dave Thomas of Wendy’s.
Along the way, Joyce provides an account of the strategy behind the chain’s phenomenal expansion, the Tim Hortons philosophy of freshness and quality, and the company’s successful launch of such products as Timbits. This is a candid look at the successes and failures of a business empire and the determined passion of a man who changed our morning routines forever.
Always Fresh
If you’re a Tim Hortons lover like me who visits daily, you will want to read this memoir. It’s a little outdated being published in 2006 but it fully covers the main parts of it’s history. Although the restaurant is named after Tim Horton, it was Ron Joyce who did most of the decision making and who took over after Hortons death until it was sold to Wendys.
If you are looking for the life of Tim Horton himself, that’s not what this is. It’s a memoir told by Ron Joyce and starts off his with life and his early beginnings. It quickly goes on to how he got involved with Tim Hortons and where it went from there. He was there for most of the major decisions including opening new stores in other parts of Canada and changing the menu, policies and look.
In the middle of the book are black and white photos of Ron, Tim and other important people in the history of Tim Hortons. I would have liked more photos that show how the stores interior and exterior changed over the decades.
Overall it was a fun read.
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