AUBURN – A new Tim Hortons restaurant is planned for the former Amato’s site on Center Street.
The restaurant will be the third in the Lewiston-Auburn area for the Canadian-based coffee company. The first opened in Lewiston in 2001 and the second, at the intersection of Minot Avenue and Hotel Road, is expected to open this year.
Officials of the company had been looking for a site on Center Street, but found that little developable land remained on the commercial strip. Then Amato’s decided to move from its location at 458 Center St. to 21 Center St., creating an opportunity for Tim Hortons.
According to plans submitted by Mike Gotto of Technical Services Inc., project developers expect to reuse the existing building and add a drive-through at the rear of the building. Capacity for the drive-through is 14 vehicles, and the curb cut will be modified with an island so there is an exit and an entrance lane onto Center Street. The project cost is estimated at $100,000.
The restaurant is expected to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Construction should begin soon, with completion scheduled for November.
“This was the latest step in the company’s plans to significantly expand its presence in Maine,” wrote Gotto. There are eight Tim Hortons in the state outside the Lewiston-Auburn area.
Since residential neighbors abut the property on several sides, site planners are replacing the stockade fence with a new one that is intended to reduce noise and provide a visual buffer. The speaker at the drive-through will be enclosed to further reduce noise.
The restaurant will have a 60-seat capacity and staff of about 20 employees. Traffic studies anticipate about 300 trips into the business during its peak morning hour, a significant change from Amato’s, which had little morning traffic. Conversely, Tim Hortons is expected to generate 80 trips during its peak evening hour, while Amato’s was in the 300-trip range.
Before Amato’s opened there in 1998, the site was a self-service car wash. The addition of a drive-through required a special exception by the Planning Board, which was approved in May.
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