In March of 1963, the first Country Style Donuts store opened in the heart of Toronto. The concept was surprisingly simple: offer the customer a freshly brewed cup of premium coffee along with a large selection of donuts baked fresh daily; keep the store spotless at all times and provide fast and friendly service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It was exactly what Toronto was looking for in the early ‘60s.

However, customers’ needs have changed over the years, and their expectations for a coffee and donut shop have also changed. Today more than half of Canada’s adult women work outside of the home; families are smaller; people are more mobile; leisure time has become a precious commodity and competition is fierce on all fronts. Country Style no longer positions stores on the “going home” side of the road in order for Dad to drop in on his way home from work for a treat of a dozen donuts for his family. Now Country Style is on the “way to work” side of the road — and in shopping centres, office complexes, and industrial parks — all to meet today’s customers’ requirements.
 

Country style unveiled their award winning new store design during the summer of 1993.

Over three decades, Country Style has grown with the market. The product line has been expanded from a single size of coffee and 56 varieties of donuts to such savoury items as thick homestyle soup, fresh green salads, hearty sandwiches, and rich chili. Today, select Country Style locations also feature specialty coffees, retail gift centres, and Yogen Früz brand frozen yogurt.

Over three decades of business, Country Style has been careful not to allow their store decor to become dated or suggest a dingy feeling, keeping pace, instead, with ever-changing fashions and designs. New sites have grown gradually in square footage from an average of 1,200 square feet in the early sixties to a standard 2,400 square feet in today’s market. Country Style is also currently embarking upon a very innovative and aggressive redesign program to see all stores, both new and established, feature a bright new look which will carry them well into the next century.
 

Interiors were redesigned after extensive research studies, giving stores a cleaner, brighter look.

In order to serve fully their franchisees, Country Style’s head office grew as well. The staff has grown from one man’s dream to over 70 people responsible for all the areas of running a franchise-based business, including the traditional areas of site selection, franchising, training, store development, operations, marketing, finance, supply and product development as well as overseeing central warehousing and distribution, equipment and a commissary facility.

Country Style Donuts will continue to build on their strengths. Their 30 years in business is testimony to a strong and dedicated group of owner/operators and staff who meet the needs of their customers 24 hours a day, in some 200 locations throughout Canada.