Popular soft-serve chain closed Triangle shop. Now Tim Hortons wants to move in
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- A beloved coffee chain with no presence in North Carolina could come to the Triangle.
- Tim Hortons filed a permit to remodel a former Dairy Queen building in Morrisville.
- Dairy Queen closed its ice cream shop at the site on Morrisville Carpenter Road.
A beloved Canadian restaurant chain wants to make its North Carolina debut.
Tim Hortons, a beloved Canadian chain that sells coffee and food, filed a permit to remodel a building in the Triangle. The renovation project would be at the site of a former Dairy Queen in Morrisville, according to Wake County records.
Here’s what we know about the potential arrival of Tim Hortons and the popular treat shop it could replace.
What is Tim Hortons?
Tim Hortons wants to open in the Raleigh suburb of Morrisville, county records show. If the permit is approved, the new restaurant could be at 1008 Morrisville Carpenter Road, near the intersection with Davis Drive and a roughly 5-mile drive southwest from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
The News & Observer has asked Tim Hortons for additional information and is awaiting a response.
The Tim Hortons menu includes coffee, tea, sandwiches, doughnuts and other baked goods.
The restaurant chain started in Canada and now has more than 6,000 locations worldwide. It has a presence in 15 U.S. states but hasn’t yet expanded to North Carolina, according to websites for Tim Hortons and its parent company, Restaurant Brands International.
Now, Tim Hortons hopes to move into a roughly 3,100-square-foot space in Morrisville. The Triangle Business Journal first reported the news about the permit filing, which comes two years after the chain expressed interest in the Triangle market.
What happened to Dairy Queen?
Dairy Queen on its website lists the Morrisville Carpenter Road location as “temporarily closed.” The chain didn’t immediately respond to The N&O’s request for information about the closure on Monday, June 15.
Dairy Queen fans still have options in the Triangle. The chain — known for its soft-serve treats, burgers and other fast-food fare — has locations in Apex, Cary, Clayton, Fuquay-Varina, Raleigh, Smithfield and Wake Forest.
This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Popular soft-serve chain closed Triangle shop. Now Tim Hortons wants to move in."
