Tim Hortons closes doors after less than a year in Oxford

Oxford's Tim Hortons location has closed its doors after operating for less than a year.

The Canadian-based coffee franchise opened its Oxford location in November 2017.

Oxford resident Carol Schnipper was not surprised that the location closed, but believes it hinders business opportunities in Oxford.

"I never saw them busy and am not surprised that they were chosen for closure," said Schnipper. "[The closing] helps perpetuate the belief that we are a place that is risky to develop your business."

Other residents said that the poorly designed drive-thru layout and parking situation discouraged them from visiting the Oxford location.

Deborah Fitzgerald, a volunteer at Oxford's Open Hands Pantry, said she agrees that the location was poorly designed but is disappointed that Tim Hortons will no longer participate in community outreach.

"Tim Hortons supplied our pantry with leftover baked goods," said Fitzgerald. "They were very much appreciated by those families who were unable to buy them. The help was always kind and polite, even though we were not buying anything."

The franchise announced a few weeks ago that four other locations in the Cincinnati area have also been terminated.

It is unclear why the locations have closed, but Tim Hortons' corporate office released a statement explaining that the decision to de-brand the Cincinnati restaurants was "mutually agreed with the franchisee[s]" in the area.

According to the Journal News, all of the Tim Hortons franchises in the Cincinnati area are managed by QSR7 Ventures. Neither QSR7 nor their Brazilian partner SevenInvest responded to the Journal's requests for comment.

The University of Cincinnati's Tim Hortons location will remain open, but it is temporarily closed for maintenance.

creekce@miamioh.edu