What customers can expect from the new Tim Hortons Chester restaurant

Tim Hortons will officially open the new restaurant and drive-thru at the former Pizza Hut unit on the Chester Retail Park on Saturday, July 31.

The new Tim Hortons restaurant at the Chester Retail Park opens on Saturday.

The Standard had a sneak preview of what customers can hope to expect at the chain, which has thousands of restaurants in Canada but only set up its first UK site in 2017.

Kevin Hydes, chief commercial officer at Tim Hortons, said: "It's obviously the first one in the area, and I think the first thing to say, from an environment perspective, is it is a very warm and welcoming environment – very clean and contemporary.

"We have a very relaxing environment for people to enjoy and we find that customers enjoy it on different times in the day."

A bagel and coffee is one of the menu options at the new Tim Hortons restaurant.

The new Tim Hortons will be offering a range of fast food throughout the day, from breakfast wraps at its 6am opening time, to burgers being served up until closing time at midnight, seven days a week.

Food is freshly made on site, with sandwiches freshly made to order, with the beverages – ranging from coffees to chilled fruit drinks and shakes – also handmade. Vegan options are also available on the menu.

One of the iced cap drinks people can purchase at the new Tim Hortons restaurant.

Explaining why Chester was chosen to be one of the new Tim Hortons restaurants, Kevin said: "We are, as a business, we're expanding very fast and across the UK, so we're going to commit to get to every major town or city by the end of 2022, and so Chester is obviously one of the most significant cities in the UK.

"We're obviously delighted to be able to open our first restaurant here. We hope that there may be more than one in the future. We know from the reaction we've had through the announcements and also through the engagement of the local community so far that people are very excited for us to be opening in the city.

"What we tend to find is there is a minority of people in the UK who know the brand very well, so they may have travelled to Canada, they may have friends or family there or may have holidayed in Canada, and Tim Hortons is part of the fabric of life in Canada, so there's over 4,000 restaurants.

A crispy chicken sandwich with potato wedges is one of the menu options at the new Tim Hortons Chester restaurant.

"I think that when we start to open in new towns and cities like Chester, there'll be a population of people here that will be very familiar with the brand and probably very excited about having a Tim Hortons close to home. They tend to be quite enthusiastic and tend to tell their friends and family, which we love, and they tend to bring them along to find out what all the fuss is about."

The new Chester restaurant has more than 50 people in the team, with a mixture of people from the local community and more experienced Tim Hortons employees from existing sites in Warrington and Manchester, to help the site through what is expected to be a busy few opening weeks.

The new Tim Hortons restaurant at the Chester Retail Park opens on Saturday.

One of the treats unique to Tim Hortons are the Timbits.

Kevin explained: "Timbits are essentially the kind of mini doughnut balls so they're ideally suited for people to share, or if you want to have them on your own it's an opportunity to try different flavours, but in a smaller format, with a range of toppings or fillings. It allows people to pick and mix."

There will also be a sample truck café on site, serving coffee, French vanilla, hot chocolate and a range of Timbits, to introduce people to the brand.

The new Tim Hortons restaurant at the Chester Retail Park opens on Saturday.

• The new Tim Hortons restaurant officially opens in Chester on Saturday, July 31.