John Marino Discusses Dunkin Donuts coming to Canada, and Dixie Lee coming to Belleville

The interview with Lorne Brooker, on the Lorne Brooker Show - of radio station CJBQ can be heard on SoundCloud!

Here is the transcript:

Lorne Brooker: Good morning. It's almost 9 minutes after 9:00 on this Thursday, another beautiful day in the Quiny region. It's the 28th day of May, 2026. Welcome to Talk Radio, the chat show, the open line, the Why Not Call. It's the Lord Burker Show. And none of this happens without our incredible executive producer behind the glass, Ted Bradford. I will not tolerate infestation. We have a great show coming up for you today. Uh yesterday we talked about travel and travel around the world. Today we're going to keep it local as Doug Stevenson from the Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board joins us after 10:00. Also, the Trestle Lounge, do you know what that is? Ted and I will update you on that. And what I noticed there yesterday, it was uh it was full reservations only at the Trestle Lounge yesterday. Uh so we'll get to that uh this hour as as well. But first, we're so excited to have our next guest as he is an expert in retail and in a country dominated by Timmy's. Guess what? Who wants to make a Duncan run? Well, Dunkin Donuts is coming back to Canada. It was, I believe, 2018 when they shut down their last restaurant, but they expect to open uh a Dunkin Donuts a week and that's going to happen uh I guess next year. To talk more about the donut/c coffee wars and what that means to this country, as I said, John Marino joins us from uh Marino locations. John, good morning.

John Marino: Good morning, Lauren. Happy uh National Hamburger Day.

Lorne Brooker: It is. It is National Hamburger Day. We'll get to that in just a second. But before we get to that, this country does not run on Duncan. That's their slogan. This country runs on Tim Jordans and Starbucks. What does it mean when you know the American juggernaut which is Dunkin Donuts uh makes a run for this country?

John Marino: Well uh Lauren, let's remember that Duncan was here uh in 1962. They were here before Tim Hortons started when Tim Horton was a hockey player. So uh you know obviously things changed. They were here from that time until 2018 uh opened a lot of stores. They had hundreds of stores across the country. Uh ended up mainly based in Quebec uh and left in 2018 because of declining sales and uh you know the the stated reasons for them leaving was that they couldn't compete against Tim Hortons. Tim worms are just doing a way better job. But essentially uh they've been around a long time and they know what they're doing. So uh coming back to Canada, they're also in 40 countries around the world. So you'd think being uh American that Canada would have been, should have been, and is a natural to expand to.

Lorne Brooker: So yeah, they're coming. But that doesn't always work. I mean, we saw the failure of Target, for example, here in Canada. Uh Tim Hortons is part of the vernacular uh of this nation as in the same way Canadian Tire is. Uh but you know, the funny thing is as Canadian Tire is still owned by Canadians, Tim Hortons isn't, right? And uh Dunkin Donuts um again is an American company. It's going to be run by a a Quebecbased franchisee or organization or something like that.

John Marino: Absolutely. Uh as you said uh Tim Williams is Americanowned by RBI Foods and uh Duncan brand is owned by also a company called Inspire. So they own the brand but the company from Quebec Foodastic is the Canadian rights holders for uh opening the stores and uh running them and subranchising them and we have a lot of experience with them. They're very good operators. They operate other brands. They operate Jimmy J's in Canada.

Lorne Brooker: Oh, interesting.

John Marino: Uh and yeah, so which is also owned by Inspired Boot. So it's really a maze of connections in terms of understanding the quickservice restaurant. Uh you really need an org chart and a game plan for who's who in that zoo. And um uh you know, but FTACIC's a good operator. Uh they've come out with a very aggressive plan, like you said, a deal a week type of thing. And the understanding is we're talking to them about many locations, but the understanding is that they're going to start kind of home base in Quebec. That's where that brand was most uh was strong. And um you know, a lot of these American companies when they come to Canada look for uh border cities as well where the brand recognition is pretty strong at least to give them a a good start. So uh we're looking for good things from FTA. They are aggressive and u they will do the job.

Lorne Brooker: What's interesting is uh every story you read talks about the fact that apparently Duncan really does connect with that Gen Z millennial group. Uh I guess because of their menu, social media, all that kind of thing. And maybe Tim Horton's doesn't have that connection and that might be good for Dunkin Donuts.

John Marino: Well, Duncan, yeah, their product is quite similar re in reality. They have the snacks, the sandwiches. You know, Tim Horton selling roast beef doesn't resonate with me, but their uh I think Tim Horton's community involvement is the strongest thing with the hockey and with uh uh just their uh the Canadian identity. I think they've done a great job of that. So, not sure about the the Gen Z uh uh resonance. But um it's a good point.

Lorne Brooker: What about the other end of things as Dunkin Donuts is coming back here? Tim Hortons, you can get one in Michigan and you can get one as you mentioned in border cities and even Florida now has Tim Hortons and there's Tim Hortons around the world too. Uh is it working both ways?

John Marino: It is. Uh maybe like Florida for instance, you count on a lot of uh brand recognition with Canadians there, etc. But of the 6,000 Tim Horton stores, 4,000 are in Canada and 2,000 outside of Canada. So that's

Lorne Brooker: I didn't think there'd be that many. That's that's a lot. That's a big number.

John Marino: It's a big number.

Lorne Brooker: Yeah.

John Marino: Very big. Yeah. And uh you know, in terms of growth, these uh these companies are driven by growth. So it's you know, adding stores, finding franchises, and um you know, the capital that goes into to opening these stores is immense. So, it's, you know, the good thing about Duncan coming to Canada is it's going to provide a lot of jobs, a lot of construction, uh, initially and then ongoing with, uh, you know, the operations of the company.

Lorne Brooker: Is it It's not unforeseeable that a Dunkin Donuts opens in Belleville, is it? At some point down the road.

John Marino: For sure. That uh, it'll be our mission to get that done.

Lorne Brooker: Uh, let me ask you, you know, we talk about Dunkin Donuts and Tim Tim Hortons also is feeling a little bit of the heat and they are um revamping uh they are changing they're opening they're they're they're realizing that they can't rest on their laurels. Uh they've announced uh pretty uh clearly in all the press that they're spending about 400 million. They're going to renovate uh next year about 400 stores and open 80 or to 100 new stores. So yeah, they're getting getting more aggressive. So, they're looking to fend off the competition for sure. Yeah, that that's so cool. Um, listen, you don't have all the time in the world today, but as you mentioned, today is National Hamburger Day. The burger is probably I safe to say with,400 McDonald's locations alone just in Canada, that the burger is the most famous of all quick service foods. I know we have pizza and everything, but I think when you think of a, you know, uh, you think of the burger, fries, and a a milkshake or a pop. And today is a very special day is tomorrow is the grand opening of a brand new burger franchise uh, here in Toronto or in in Belleville. And what I like about this place is that and listen, they we want them to buy advertising. They haven't yet. We're going to visit them today and and and meet them. But um, it's kind of a cool story. This Rudy is opening tomorrow. And it's it's one of those spa smashburger things, but the story is very cool.

John Marino: Well, it's quite the opposite of all these other companies we're talking about where we're getting, you know, big capital groups buying uh huge chains and expanding. This is two guys that started in uh you know, in on College Street, downtown Toronto and uh are up to about 20 stores now. They're a familyrun business. They're uh individual full curation of every store and every uh franchise operator. So, um and a limited menu. What's interesting is so many of these uh brands now are just adding and adding and adding to their menu. It dilutes what they really stand for. But, uh here it's a very limited menu, very good quality smash burger, crispy crispy uh thin uh burgers and um milkshakes. And I think they're going to be fantastic.

Lorne Brooker: Yeah. No, I Listen, I'm all about that, right? I mean, what does the I'm looking at their website now. Uh, as you said, grilled cheeseburgers, pickle, brine, fried chicken. I mean, just basic stuff. Is that a problem that I mean, as a as a as a retail expert, you would say to people who are, you know, if you could speak to the president of Tim Hortons and say, "Stop, you know, nobody needs Tim Horton's rotisserie chicken and uh pulled pork sandwiches." Like, stick to sandwiches.

John Marino: That's my personal opinion. And I agree with you, but you know, I guess the sales are tell the story and uh you know, they're they're still doing well, but I think it's being diluted in my opinion.

Lorne Brooker: Yeah. Yeah. That's that's so interesting. Um also uh before we let you go, so Rudy opens tomorrow uh here in Belleville. Um and I will personally let you know how it is everybody. Um I will tell you this. Yesterday uh the mayor of Belleville made some announcement about a 150,000 square foot retail uh opening in the near future on Bell Boulevard. Um you're the retail expert. What could that be? Uh John.

John Marino: Well, what it could be is it could be Costco, but uh I am not uh privy to uh seeing any documentation at this time, but that's what the talk has been. It's pretty out there that uh that's likely what it could be.

Lorne Brooker: The long long awaited Costco could possibly be coming to Belleville. It will be the biggest news uh since uh you know uh Jesus wore short pants. I'm telling you it everybody will be losing their mind. And then of course we'll get you on to talk about what Costco really is all about once we get an official conf confirmation cuz it really is a fascinating company Costco. And um it it is uh it is kind of the idea that people pay 60 a year to shop is just a wild notion. And uh and we'll talk about that more. Listen, I know you have to go. Thank you very much.

John Marino: Wait, one other thing before if you want to know about uh it's not Costco coming to Belleville, but I've been uh given the okay by uh my client Dixie Lee. And I saw that on one of the uh Belleville websites. I think it's Memories of Belleville, whatever. There's some comments about how people remember Dixie Lee and how great was. And why isn't it coming back to Belleville? Well, I can let you know that it is coming back to Belleville. We have uh firm plants that are firm but not quite uh fleshed out yet to come back.

Studio Voice / Ted Bradford: That's me. I can't cry.

Lorne Brooker: That's Ted is so excited. Dixie Lee coming back to Belleville. Do we know where or is that the uh the information you're still working out?

John Marino: That's the part we're still uh going to keep to ourselves for now. But uh that's generally the uh the news. I can share today.

Lorne Brooker: And didn't Dixie Lee start here? It originated in Belleville.

John Marino: Yes.

Lorne Brooker: And uh what I think is really cool too, um there's this guy uh you know, they have all these videos. I'm a food guy. And I was watching this guy and he went and hit the like the top 10 most famous Canadian food chains, American guy. And he stopped at Mary Browns and he took a bite, a big bite of Mary Brown's just regular fried chicken and said, "This might be the best um you know, chain fried chicken and I don't think we realize how lucky we are to have these Canadian companies producing such good food. Um and I was just reading that Rudy grinds their own beef twice daily in their restaurants to make their burgers, right? Like this is what you want. Like sounds good. We're looking forward to it. Uh so there's big news. I'll let our newsroom know. Dixie Lee coming to Belleville. John Marino. Always breaking news here on the Lauren Brooker Show. So, thank you.

John Marino: Okay. Very good, Lauren. Thank you.

Lorne Brooker: All right. John Marino is our retail expert for Marino Locations and we appreciate his time.