Burlington, ON (WBEN) Ron Joyce, who teamed up with former Sabre defenseman Tim Horton to expand his namesake chain of donuts, has died at age 88.
Horton chose Joyce to be his first franchisee in 1964. Joyce admitted he knew nothing about making donuts at the time but told CBC, "I borrowed $10,000 from the credit union and I had to learn in a hurry."
Joyce took over the company after Horton's death in a 1974 car crash, and expanded it into a billion dollar business. There are 4,500 locations worldwide.
Please join us in sharing condolences to the Joyce family, following the passing of our co-founder, Ronald V. Joyce. pic.twitter.com/ZfTSwj1Sk3
— Tim Hortons (@TimHortons) February 1, 2019In 1996, Joyce sold the business to Wendy's International in a deal worth $580 million. In 2014, Tim Hortons was bought by another U.S. fast food giant, Burger King, for $12 billion.
