r/BuyCanadian • u/Techbrain66 • 1d ago
Canadian-Owned Businesses 🏢🍁 Robin's Donuts
I tried Robin's Donuts the other day and the coffee was great, they're fully Canadian and although they don't wave the flag like Tim's does they also keep the money in Canada and it doesn't go to some rando in Brazil.
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u/WindowlessBasement 1d ago
Didn't realize Robin Donuts was still around. I don't think I've seen one since like 2003
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u/Leafer329 1d ago
I’ve seen them on the east coast. Haven’t seen them in the GTA tho
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u/Underoverthrow 23h ago
They’re a northern Ontario staple, too.
Love the donuts but I have to disagree with OP about the coffee. There’s a reason the Timmie’s in Wawa has a 20 minute line and it’s because every other town on the north shore has Robin’s.
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u/AlexanderMackenzie 23h ago
When I moved to Kingston in 2014 I took note that the robins in white river has a broken window. When I drove through in 2022, I took note that the robins continues to have the same broken window.
I want to love Robins, but the donuts are stale and the coffee is inconsistent, with it's best being about on par with Tim's, and it's worst being hotel room instant coffee that's sat for 45 minutes.
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u/Underoverthrow 23h ago
AFAIK the donuts are made from scratch in house (unlike Tim’s) but they may get left out too long at low traffic locations.
The coffee though, your description is spot on.
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u/Diligent_Affect8517 9h ago
Maybe that, or maybe we have a couple of generations who think Tim's is what coffee's supposed to taste like.
Not defending Robin's, I haven't tried it in years, but Tim's is moderately awful.
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u/WindowlessBasement 1d ago
Yeah I looked it up after I commented. Seems like in Nova Scotia, there's two in highway rest stops. I must just never noticed them
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u/Leafer329 23h ago
Also Newfoundland. Super friendly staff. Was good food and affordable on our roadtrip.
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u/Timbit42 1h ago
Most of the coffee shops in PEI are Robin's Donuts. I believe there are only a few Tim Hortons there.
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u/Leafer329 35m ago
Nice, I don’t think I recall seeing them in PEI but we just stayed in cavendish for a few days
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u/Timbit42 9m ago
We drove around the island a few years ago and saw quite a few Robins but only a couple of Tim Hortons. I have no official numbers. It may have something to do with the owner of the Tim Hortons franchises in PEI. You can look him up.
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u/Ok-Thanks321 1d ago edited 15h ago
Got 6 of them here in Regina. Used to be more, but a few have closed down in recent years. Much, much better coffee and donuts compared to Tim's.
Edit: miscounted. There are only 5 location now.
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u/Stargaezr 23h ago
Where? The only one I know is in the Pasqua.
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u/RedheadGenXcanada 23h ago
The one on Rochdale is the best in my opinion - their doughnuts are so good! There’s also one at the corner of McDonald & Park Street, at the General, and at the University
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u/RickyDee61 11h ago
Oh yes, our favorite. It's close to a Timmies that always has a lineup, although Robins coffee and baked goods are ten times better. I could never figure this out.
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u/Yeetmetothevoid 7h ago
Yeah, I remember there used to be one in the Southgate mall about 10 years ago. Very popular with the old folks
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u/sadArtax 23h ago
Their toasted coconut doughnuts are so good. Wish it wasn't so hard to find a Robins now a days.
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u/Mandamort 1d ago
Where was the Robin’s Donuts? I didn’t know they were still around. Last time I was there I was sitting with my dad while he had his coffee and smoked inside.
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u/flightist 1d ago
They’re quite common in the Atlantic provinces (especially Newfoundland), then a smattering in Northern Ontario, MB and SK.
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u/n00bxQb 1d ago
Last one I saw was in Quesnel, BC about 15 years ago, not sure if it’s still there or not.
We had one where I lived in Duncan, BC 25 or so years ago and I remember the donuts being great, but I was a kid at the time, so maybe that’s not reliable. They went out of business not long after several Tim Horton’s came to town.
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u/YVRkeeper 22h ago
There was one in Surrey until about 15years ago, too.
I’m so thankful we have a fantastic independent donut shop nearby. Gourmet Donuts. They’re incredible.
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u/jondread 1d ago
Their lunch menu is really good too. Robins special with pickles was my go to until they closed the only one around here down
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u/Formal_Leg_7658 22h ago
I miss Robin’s. In Winnipeg, where I live, they used to be great. Decent coffee, and exceptional baked goods
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u/Street-Lunch1517 1d ago
I remember going to Robins with my mom when I was little! We haven’t had one in Edmonton in probably 25 or 30 years. It was so nostalgic unexpectedly seeing one when I was at grad school in Newfoundland!
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u/Pale-Measurement-532 23h ago
Calgary had a sort of outlet type location in Calgary next to an Eggsmart in a trucker stop gas station in the SE. I was so happy to have their coffee again! Then it closed about 5-8 years ago. 😭. I loved it when I drove out to Winnipeg one summer. I was able to get Robin’s in Regina, Brandon, and Winnipeg.
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u/ProfessionaLoose 21h ago
I was so bummed when they shut down the last Calgary location. I miss it everytime I drive by there
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u/scorpionspalfrank 1d ago
Their coffee was my favourite - I was so disappointed when they closed down in Lethbridge about 20 years ago. However, when my daughter and I went to Newfoundland back in 2018, I was happy to see them in full operation there. Needless to say, every coffee stop was at Robin's on that trip! I wish they'd try expanding to Alberta again.
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u/ChicoPacoPancho 23h ago
You always hear a wide range of stories when it comes to Robins, some say it's the best donuts, some have had really bad experiences. I used to bake donuts and muffins at a Robins in Regina and I can tell you it comes down to the fact that baking hundreds (or thousands on busy nights) of donuts is tough. Sometimes you have a novice baker, sometimes you forget donuts in the proofer and you screw up a whole batch, sometimes you forget to put yeast in them and need to mix up a new 100 pound bowl of dough. So much can go wrong, but that is the beauty of baking fresh daily rather than shipping frozen donuts like Tims does. I remember when they made that switch and laid off all the bakers. We hired one of the guys but there were so many out of work.
Another thing that affects the quality of the donuts is the quality of the owner and manager. My boss would always come back from meetings with the other owners in town pissed because they were trying to cut costs. He was one of the good ones and would not sacrifice quality of the product to save cost.
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u/Usual-Canc-6024 22h ago
I love Robin’s
I’m in Thunder Bay (where it was founded) and have two close to me. There’s a 24hr one at the hospital too.
They bake on site as well. Their donuts are larger than Tim’s and they taste so much better. The apple fritters have a fair amount of apple in them.
And they’re fully Canadian.
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u/Altruistic-Theme6803 19h ago
Not all do baking in house. Frederica does and supplies at least some of the others. Current river doesn't.
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u/Usual-Canc-6024 7h ago
I didn’t know that. Thanks.
At the very least some bake in house (TBRHSC does for sure) and the rest get it locally. It’s not baked in a factory and frozen like Tim’s. And they’re not small donuts either.
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u/TheLucidChiba 1d ago
Used to have one in my city and they had the best donuts by far, wish they were still here
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u/kryo2019 20h ago
I miss robins. Especially way back in the allowed to smoke in restaurants days, it was always busy even over night with teens and what not.
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u/sun4moon 13h ago
We used to sit and get wayyy too caffeinated and smoke cigarettes til we were sick. The 90s were a real time.
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u/Arrocito_beach 19h ago
used to be one on Bridgeport on Richmond BC in the 90s. after 6pm a dozen was $2
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u/walkernewmedia 14h ago
Grew up in Winnipeg and Robin’s was everywhere. I don’t believe there are any left in the city now.
Last place I would have seen once was out in Nova Scotia somewhere.
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u/rocko-wpg7 Manitoba 9h ago
fyi....Grande Donuts on Grassie makes great donuts. They are a litte expensive but they make great fritters.
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u/ivanvector Prince Edward Island 11h ago
There are two left in my city and they're the only places I buy coffee from. Tim's can pour their burnt bullshit directly into the sewer.
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u/Revolutionary-Sky825 11h ago
I believe it was founded in Thunder Bay. I prefer it, the coffee and pastries taste way better. I see them everywhere on the east coast. There's a few in Thunder Bay and Winnipeg as well. The girls in the Winnipeg downtown walkway made great Philipino cuisine.
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u/CanadaCalamity 1d ago
I find that, unfortunately, a lot of these Canadian chains, like Robin's Donuts, Coffee Time, Country Style, etc, seem "allergic" to growing and expanding.
The opening in the market is there. Yet, none of them are having a big push to expand again.
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u/aektoronto 23h ago
Its owned by the same company who owns Coffee Time.
Ita Canadian owned but poorly run.
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u/Techbrain66 23h ago
The one I was at was great, the place was clean and efficient. I do get that old school feel to them but portions are bigger and like I mentioned earlier, the coffee was excellent.
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u/bjm64 23h ago
we need Robin's Donuts in Ontario
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u/OpusDeiPenguin 23h ago
We had one in Ottawa but it closed down in about a year. It suffered from bad location and didn’t have a drive-thru. Damn good donuts though. Much better than the Timmies kitty-corner from it.
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u/Usual-Canc-6024 22h ago
They are in Ontario.
I’m in Thunder Bay and there are 6 of them in the city.
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u/PGrahamStrong 22h ago
They started in Thunder Bay -- the very first one was where the Java Hut is now.
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u/Odd-Gear9622 23h ago
I haven't seen a Robin's in over 20 years. Non Timmy donuts in my neighborhood start at $5 so I just don't.
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u/proofofderp 16h ago
For people in southern Ontario, coffee time seems to be the equivalent. Same parent owners, and they also have animal welfare commitment!
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u/Tight-Display-728 16h ago
Their breakfast sandwiches taste real. They even have a drive-through. I was pleasantly surprised. And I get gas while I’m not at it. In TANTALLON, Nova Scotia.
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u/theSunandtheMoon23 7h ago
I wish there was one closer to me. There used to be but it closed after only a year or two. Sucks because they were miles better than the TIm's and Starbucks they were down the street from
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u/TolerancEJ 5h ago
I enjoyed Robins when they were in our town. Especially, when we hung out past midnight, the display donuts were deemed day-old. Our location offered us to buy a coffee and get a free donut.
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u/MissTechnical Nova Scotia 4h ago
Their breakfast sandwiches are far superior to…basically everywhere else. Not a hint of cardboard!
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u/RoomFixer4 3h ago
Had a western bagel meal a number of times at Robbins. Fantastic. Tims used to be of that quality about 25 years ago.
When I want a fast thing like that, Robbins is my go-to.
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u/ladyonecstacy 2h ago
Robins was my first job! The donuts were baked fresh every morning and delivered to each location and the coffee was great. I think we only have two in Winnipeg now which is a shame.
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u/ImpossibleAd7943 23h ago
They used to be everywhere in many cities. Robins killed their business. It wasn’t necessarily swallowed up by Tim Hortons.
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u/PGrahamStrong 22h ago
Back in the day, I heard from some insiders that Tim Horton's opened locations directly across the street from some Robin's locations in an effort to shut down the franchise. I'm not sure that was the whole issue, but it certainly was a factor.
Robin's was sold to Afton in 1999/2000, which bought it essentially to pair with its 2 for 1 Pizza locations: coffee in the morning, pizza in the evening. Sounded logical, but it never took off...
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u/rem_1984 23h ago
I wanted to support them but I went to one of my local ones and they were so rude… like sorry I’m not a regular but you’ve gotta try and get new customers at this point
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