Canadian chain arrives in New York

       The Canadian doughnut invasion has begun.Over a weekend earlier this month,12 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn underwent a transformation, emerging the Monday morning after as the first New York locations of Tim Hortons, a Canadian chain that sells coffee and baked goods.
       New Yorkers tend to be particular about their coffee and doughnuts, so the switch was considered noteworthy. There were 380 litres of free coffee to be doled out, and at the shop in Pennsylvania Station there was a ribbon-cutting whose attendees were to include Gov David A.Paterson.
       Paterson was a no-show, but the event did attract Mark Green, the city's former public advocate who is running for his old job, and City Councilman David I. Weprin. It also drew two former New York Rangers hockey players, Rod Gilbert and Glenn Anderson. Tim Horton, the founder of the doughnut chain, played for the Rangers from 1969 to 1971, though he, like Anderson, spent most of his career in Canada.
       Weprin said the arrival of Tim Hortons "shows New York City is on the move, we're a desirable market," adding that he was "so excited to have Tim Hortons here."
       Customers at the Penn Station shop and at another new Tim Hortons, on 34th Street near Seventh Avenue, had more varied reactions. Some were familiar with the chain in Canada, but others had only read about the changeover and were eager to give the new chain a try, especially with a free cup of coffee thrown in. A few were befuddled when they arrived at what they thought was a Dunkin' Donuts, only to find it gone, the pink-and-orange decor supplanted by a more subdued dark red.
       "I had no idea," said Danielle Gerard of Queens,who works near the new Tim Hortons on 34th Street."I have no choice, because I hate Starbucks and once I go up to my building I'm not coming back down. They better not do this in Queens or Long Island."
       The Riese Organisation, which owns the stores,recently ended its affiliation with Dunkin' Donuts,hoping that another franchise would produce better profits.
       "As the boss, I knew I wanted to replace a doughnut with a doughnut," Dennis Riese, the company's chief executive, said before the opening ceremony.
       Waiting in line at Penn Station, Bari Siegel of Fort Washington said she was excited about the change."I'm sick of Dunkin'- I think their coffee has been bitter," Siegel said. But she ended up pocketing the coupon for free coffee to use later in the day. She watched a friend, Susie Goldman, also of Fort Washington, test the coffee.
       "I really do like Dunkin' Donuts," Goldman said before taking a sip. Her reaction?"It's strong,"she said."I'm in. I think it'll grow on me."
       Regina Elkaim, standing in line at the Tim Hortons on 34th Street, said she had never tried the chain's coffee or doughnuts, but she was optimistic.
       "I am a Dunkin' Donuts fan, but I saw it on TV and I've heard good things," she said.
       Tim Hortons has more than 3,400 locations,including more than 500 in the US, but until recently the closest stores to New York were in Meriden, Connecticut, and Buffalo.
       Most customers seemed to prefer coffee over doughnuts, and a few ordered bagels, sandwiches or other baked goods. As they filed out of the 34th Street store, reactions were mixed.
       "Well, mine's good!" Elkaim said after taking a sip of coffee."I love it."
       "Dunkin' Donuts used to have larger cups,"Gerard complained to the clerk as she left, a small iced coffee in hand.