Canadian coffee chain plans Peel Centre branch

Canadian coffee chain, Tim Hortons, have submitted plans to open a drive-through branch in Stockport’s Peel Centre.

The chain, which launched in the UK in Manchester in 2017, already has three branches in the city-region, and has now submitted a planning application to the council to add drive-through access the former Frankie & Benny’s unit in the town centre’s Peel Centre retail park. The Canadian coffee and doughnut retailer has ambitious expansion plans, anticipating that the chain could employ as many as 20,000 people by the end of 2022.

The addition of Tim Hortons would add to the food and drink offering at the Peel Centre, which is also home to a Nandos and Pizza Hut. Frankie & Benny’s closed on the site last year as one of 125 outlets run by parent company The Restaurant Group, that closed permanently to keep the chain out of administration, with the unit having now lain empty for a year.

Planning consultants, NJL Consulting, who have prepared the planning application for the proposed Tim Hortons branch on behalf of Peel Centre owners, Peel Investment, have proposed that Stockport Council allow for a drive-through lane to be constructed within the site. Plans recommend a design that would minimise loss of parking spaces on the complex, with lost trees and greenery mitigated through the addition of replacement planting elsewhere on the site. The store will also see the addition of a number of flexible and part-time job opportunities to the borough.

Founded in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario, Tim Hortons has grown to be one of Canada’s most popular hospitality brands. The first UK branch opened to much fanfare in Manchester in 2017, with customers queuing from 2am to claim free food.