Not nearly as many residents of the United States know thebrand, since there are only about 230 shops in this country. ButTim Hortons--which for about a decade now has been owned by Wendy'sInternational Inc., headquartered in Columbus, OH--has plans tomore than double its presence in the United States in the nextthree years by adding perhaps as many as 300 more stores.

Currently, Tim Horton's US stores are largely in the Northeastand Midwest, though a handful of them can be found as far afield asKentucky and West Virginia, and they're doing well. Comp storessales in the U.S. Tim Hortons shops bested the growth of theCanadian shops by posting a 9.8% increase in the third quarter ofthis year, compared with 3Q 2003. Those Americans who know aboutTim Hortons seem to be patronizing the brand.

"We see U.S. expansion as a major growth opportunity," says JackSchuessler, president and CEO of Wendy's. "We have many competitiveadvantages in the northeast and Great Lakes regions, including24-hour operations, drive-through windows, an expanded lunchoffering, updated restaurants, and, most importantly, a great cupof coffee."