• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, July 13, 2009

The intense competition among quick-service restaurants in New York City will heat up even more this summer, now that Canadian-headquartered chain Tim Hortons has officially opened its first locations in the city.

The Riese Organization, which operates more than 100 restaurants in metro New York, has converted 10 midtown and two Brooklyn Dunkin' Donuts locations into Hortons. Nine midtown stores -- which include highly desirable, high-traffic locations such as Broadway, Madison Square Garden, Penn Station and Times Square -- opened on Monday.

In addition, in August, three more locations will open in existing Cold Stone Creamery outlets in Manhattan as part of an ongoing test initiative to co-brand up to 100 Cold Stone/Hortons in the U.S.

The largest publicly traded QSR in Canada and fourth-largest in North America based on market capitalization, Hortons has about 3,500 locations, including 527 in the U.S. Named after the National Hockey League Hall-of-Famer who co-founded it, the chain is wildly popular in Canada, serving more than seven out of 10 cups of coffee sold in the country.

Hortons will compete not only with Dunkin', but Starbucks, McDonald's and all other NYC-based QSRs that offer coffee/breakfast and café-type menu options throughout the day.

In addition to specialty coffees brewed from its own blend of Arabica beans, Hortons' menu emphasizes specialty teas, donuts, home-style soups, and fresh sandwiches and baked goods. All baking is done on premises.

Hortons president/CEO Don Schroeder described the New York locations as a "significant milestone" in the chain's U.S. expansion.