Stoney Nakoda will be the first Southern Alberta First Nation with a Tim Hortons
You will soon be able to fill up and grab a double double in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies.
Starting next week, the Stoney Nakoda First Nation will be home to a Tim Hortons. A first for a Southern Alberta First Nation.
Construction workers are making last minute adjustments at the new Bearspaw Kananaskis Travel Centre 75 kilometres west of Calgary, just off the Trans Canada Highway.
It'll be the home to a gas station and the Tim Hortons franchise when it opens on Monday.
Bearspaw Band CEO Rob Shotclose said the project has been in the works for three years, and the complex will create as many as 50 new jobs for Nation members.
"We're excited," he said. "People are excited about working."
Local residents are buzzing over the new development said Shotclose.
"Tim Hortons has always been looked at as a natural partner [for the band]," he said. "People want to stop for their coffee ... it's a great driver of traffic."
Shotclose said Bearspaw First Nation stepped up to build the development when a previous deal was rejected by truck stop chain, Flying J.
Heather Carnahan, the CEO for the Stoney Nakoda Holdings Ltd., said the new development is an attempt by the First Nation to deal with a drop in revenue due to low natural gas prices.
"The Nations have thrived for decades from what's under the ground and now we're looking to what's on the surface of the ground," she said.
The Bearspaw band designated the land back in 2002 with the first development, which is now the Stoney Nakoda Resort and Casino.
The travel centre is part of the 96 hectare (238 acre) site that has always been part of the master plan for the band.
"The nation will continue to look toward tourism, recreation, retail and culture," said Carnahan.
