Tales from Under the Rim chronicles the rise of Tim Hortons, from its humble beginnings to a national institution. The recipe was simple: it took “one hockey player, one favourite barber shop, one former drummer, and one police officer” plus “the luck hard work brings” to transform a once unknown donut shop into one of Canada’s leading franchise operations.

In this bestselling business memoir, Ron Buist shows how Tim Hortons became a second home to millions of Canadians. It includes the grass-roots marketing strategy that defined the early years, the Tim Hortons habit of listening to customers, and the whole story of Roll Up the Rim to Win, the no-frills contest that has become a defining feature of Canadian life.

“The perfect business gift … Like its subject, it is comfortable, friendly, and a predominantly pleasant experience — Christmas morning or any other time.”
– Financial Post

“The book’s subtitle is bang on. Tim Hortons is many things to this country, but it’s above all else a triumph of marketing …. Buist’s version of the rise of Tims holds a lot of common sense lessons that Canadian marketers of all stripes and sizes would do well to commit to memory.”
– Marketing Magazine

“The ‘mother’ of invention… A name that is on the lips of most Canadians — though they don’t even know it. Along with other brilliant Canadians who’ve enriched our lives with light bulbs and TV, we raise a cup to you.”
– Toronto Sun

“A celebration of the results of marketing at its best.”
– Daily Gleaner

“Buist’s Tales from Under the Rim: The Marketing of Tim Hortons really does reveal the truth behind Tim Hortons success. That is, there is no mystery.”
– Chronicle Herald

“The perfect coffee-table book? — a book about coffee.”
– Edmonton Sunday Sun

“Enlightening peeks into the building of a business empire.”
– Canadian Press

“A readable and colourful account of the marketing successes that kept Tim Hortons in the forefront of the public mind…an interesting and accessible text for students of marketing.”
– British Journal of Canadian Studies