Tim Hortons timeline: From humble beginnings to 4,000-plus locations

Cups of coffee sit on a counter in a Tim Hortons in Oakville, Ontario on Monday September 16, 2013. (Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

1964- Tim Hortons opens its first location in Hamilton, Ont. Coffee cost 25 cents and doughnuts were 69 cents a dozen. The doughnut shop was founded by Canadian hockey player Tim Horton and partner Jim Charade. Charade left the company in 1966.

1974- Tim Horton dies in car crash.  Ron Joyce, the company’s first franchisee, assumes full control of the company.

1976- Tim Hortons introduces the Timbit, a bite-sized doughnut hole. The chain later introduces muffins, cookies and soups and chili to its menu in the 1980s.

1984- The first U.S. Tim Horton location opens in Tonawanda, New York.

1986- Canadians are introduced to the first RRRoll Up the Rim contest.

1995- Wendy’s International Inc. purchases Tim Hortons for $400 million.

2004- The word ‘Double-double’ is added to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary.

2005 – Wendy’s announces it will sell 15 to 18 per cent of Tim Hortons operations in an initial public offering and spin off its remaining interests to shareholders.

2006- Shares of the company begin trading on March 24, with an initial public offering of $27 per share, raising more than $700 million in the first day of trading. Tim Hortons is fully spun off as a separate company in September.

2011- Tim Hortons opens its 4,000th location. The vast majority are in Canada and nearly 900 are in the U.S. The chain has announced growth plans in the Persian Gulf.

2014- Tim Hortons and Burger King announce in a joint statement that they’re in talks to create a new Canadian-based company through a merger that would see both chains operate as standalone brands.