A 24 hour drive-thru Tim Hortons is planned for a major West Midlands shopping centre

A coffee chain is looking to open a new 24-hour drive-thru restaurant at a West Midlands retail park.

Canadian coffee shop Tim Hortons is looking to take over a unit currently home to Pizza Hut next to Gallagher Shopping Park in Wednesbury.

A new drive-thru would be added to the existing restaurant if the plans are approved by Sandwell Council. The application states that Tim Hortons plans for the venue to be open 24 hours a day. The new coffee shop would create around 50 jobs.

Tim Hortons sells a range of coffees and other hot and cold drinks, breakfast sandwiches and wraps, pancakes, burgers and melts, and a range of baked goods including doughnuts.  It would be the second Tim Hortons drive-thru to open in Sandwell after a restaurant opened at Birchley Island, next to the M5, last year.

A statement included with the application said: “Tim Hortons opened its first store in the UK in 2017 and now has over 70 units across all four countries of the UK, with more opening soon. Its current focus is to expand its drive-thru model across the UK, including at the proposal site.

“The Tim Hortons offer is different from that provided by the likes of McDonalds, KFC and Burger King and is instead comparable to that provided by coffee shop operators such as Costa or Starbucks, with a substantial part of the offer comprising hot and cold beverages and bakery items, including an extensive choice of donuts. 

“The hot food offer includes paninis and ‘melts’ as well as hot sandwiches and wraps, again similar to other coffee shop operators. The proposal will result in the re-use of a soon-to-be vacant unit, improvements to the external appearance of the unit, and will provide the more modern facilities now expected by the public.  It will also bring about much-needed investment during the construction phase and upon occupation of the unit by Tim Hortons, local employment opportunities will be created.”