DONUT WARS: 2 New Tim Hortons to give away $500 gift cards next week

A ribbon-cutting and grand opening are planned for the Kettering Boulevard store for Jan. 26, and for the Troy store on Jan. 27. A drawing for a $500 gift card will be held at each store. Customers can fill out entries for the drawing in each store starting next week, Forbes said.

A third new Tim Hortons is in the works at 1975 Harshman Road in Riverside. That store involves the demolition of a former Pizza Hut restaurant, and its opening is scheduled for April “if the weather cooperates,” Forbes said.

PREVIOUS: Tim Hortons coming to busy Kettering-Moraine intersection

The openings are part of an aggressive expansion that could bring as many as 10 new Tim Hortons locations over the next three years — in a direct challenge to competitor Dunkin’ Donuts.

“Tim Hortons is a solid brand … it attracts customers in all times of the day,” said Tabbassum Mumtaz, CEO of Ampex Brands, the restaurant chain’s Ohio franchisee. And the Dayton area is where the Tim Hortons franchisee is “looking forward to competing with Dunkin’ Donuts,” Mumtaz said.

Plans call for adding seven to 10 total new Tim Hortons restaurants in the Dayton region over the next three years, Mumtaz said.

Forbes said he and his team are “looking at about a half-dozen locations” around the region, “but we don’t have the properties locked in yet.”

Texas-based Ampex Brands operates several other franchise restaurants, including Long John Silver’s, Taco Bell, A&W Restaurants and KFC restaurants, in 17 states. It is also expanding the Tim Hortons footprint in the Columbus and central Ohio area.

DONUT WARS: Tim Horton’s to open 10 Dayton-area shops, challenge Dunkin’

Dunkin’ Donuts is in the midst of its own aggressive expansion in the region. It has opened five Dayton-area restaurants in the last three years under franchise owner Pat Gilligan, including, last month, a location on Woodman Drive in Riverside. Other new Dunkin’ Donuts shops have opened in Sugarcreek Twp., Springfield, Kettering, and Centerville. Gilligan told this news outlet in February 2016 that he plans to open two Dunkin’ Donuts a year beyond this year in the Dayton region.

DONUT WARS: Tim Horton’s to open 10 Dayton-area shops, challenge Dunkin’