Tim Hortons plans to build a new restaurant at Hewitt Road and Washtenaw Avenue.
Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com
Ypsilanti Township has approved preliminary plans for two new Tim Hortons Cafe and Bake Shops that will be located in high traffic areas.
One is planned for a vacant lot at the corner of Hewitt Road and Washtenaw Avenue, while a second will be built near the corner of James L. Hart Parkway and Huron Street, just south of Interstate 94.
The Canada-based Tim Hortons launched its cafe and bake shops in New York City in 2009 and began franchising them in 2010. They feature a more of a “warm," contemporary coffee shop setting than the standard Tim Horton’s, which have a fast food design. The shops will include couches and soft chairs, and customers are encouraged to stay and relax.
Each of the new locations are about 1,950-square-feet and include a drive thru.
The location at 2220 Washtenaw will have driveways leading to Washtenaw and Hewitt, and the owners also are purchasing a parcel to the north of the corner property.
That property used to hold a gas station until it was torn down several years ago. A Fat Philly's restaurant recently opened next door.
The other store is planned to be built in the Washtenaw Business Park.
Mike Radzik, director of the township’s office of community standards, said that project's plans also include clearing some of the trees that block the view to an adjacent shopping plaza. There also will be signage placed next to Huron Street, Radzik said.
Brighton-based Tim Donuts is buying both the properties. The sale is contingent on final approval of the plans. The Washtenaw parcel is valued at $43,000, according to the Ypsilanti Township assessor's office.
Township officials said they are pleased to see a Tim Hortons opening along the southern portion of the Whittaker Road corridor, which they say is in need of such a restaurant.
“It’s a service that’s lacking there,” Township Planner Joe Lawson said. “It’s something that has been requested by the township and it's another key in getting that area moving. Also, new construction brings additional tax base, and there are other vacant properties available in the area, so we’re hoping this will be first step in developing more of the corridor as well.”
“Development begets development,” Radzik added.