Kelton Enterrpises co-founders Allana and David Beaton own 47 Tim Hortons in Western New York.
David Beaton grew the majority of his Tim Hortons business by building new locations in Western New York.
He’s switched gears now by acquiring 10 existing units, bringing his portfolio to 47 Tim Hortons units, which makes him the largest Tim Hortons franchisee in New York.
Kelton Enterprises, which Beaton co-founded, acquired the restaurants from Double Double Inc. and principal Diana Ulsrud. Beaton is anticipating adding three new builds next year, the first of which will open in March in Niagara Falls, New York, to reach 50 restaurants.
Beaton, who co-owns Kelton Enterprises and Kelton Group with his wife, Allanna, said the new restaurants that are located around Buffalo were all performing above the systemwide average unit volume of $1.2 million when his bought them a few weeks ago.
He said the remainder of his Tim Hortons are posting AUVs of $1.7 million and that he projects that Kelton Enterprises will end the year with $78 million in revenue and 1,100 employees.
“We were very fortunate with this opportunity to add 10 good stores to our portfolio from a group that operated them really well for 22 years. They wanted to retire and they were ready,” Beaton said.
“With all the challenges of constructing new stores, the high cost of real estate and getting sites approved, getting this deal done saved us a lot of time and headaches,” he said.
Beaton, who started off as a district manager for Tim Hortons in the early ‘90s, became a franchisee in 1999 when he and his wife opened their first restaurant in Lockport, New York. He estimates they built 32 of their 37 Tim Hortons before acquiring 10 units earlier this month. All but three of his locations, which are in the University of Buffalo and in a hotel that’s part of a sports complex, have drive-thru lanes.
Tim Hortons, which is named after a former NHL player, is owned by Restaurant Brands International, which also owns Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs.
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Beaton has been with Canada’s largest quick-service restaurant chain long enough to remember when the brand had barely a dozen locations in Buffalo. He estimates there are over 200 Tim Hortons in the Buffalo area now, including in KeyBank Center, the home of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, and Highmark Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills of the NFL.
He attributes his company’s success to a number of factors, including its close proximity to the Canadian border and becoming a go-to destination for visitors from there, forging strong relations with local sports teams and the ability to align his products with the four seasons—especially the winter. “Our customers sure do love their Tim Hortons coffee and donuts when it gets cold,” Beaton said.
Operating a brand named after a famous hockey player whose No. 2 jersey now hangs from the rafters of KeyBank Center is a big sales driver for Kelton Enterprises.
“After a kind of rough start for us, when me and Allanna were in our first two stores, me in one and she in the other making donuts from scratch, baking cakes and cookies, we really hit our stride when brand awareness took over and we added more stores,” Beaton said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the team we’ve assembled, with four original hires still with us since the start of all this.”
Beaton said he and his wife own an equal 50-50 share in their restaurant business with Allanna Beaton focusing on leading human resources and marketing efforts while he focuses on day-to-day operations. He said his younger brother, meanwhile, helps operate one of their most successful restaurants.
“The most important thing for us, and what we base our entire business on, is the importance of creating a family-like environment for employees by encouraging and supporting them,” Beaton said. “We really make an effort to build out careers for our people because it’s your people that are going to make you successfully.”
Beaton said the future of Kelton Enterprises looks bright.
“We see a lot of runways left to grow and we’ll continue to look for other opportunities to build new restaurants and acquire existing ones,” he said.