Tim Hortons slowed down its process for approving new sites in the St. Louis area after Show Me Hospitality refused to sign a new franchise agreement, according to a lawsuit Show Me Hospitality filed against Tim Hortons USA in federal court in Miami in July.

Through their attorney, Tim Hortons USA has declined to comment on the litigation.

In late November, Show Me Hospitality closed Tim Hortons in downtown St. Louis and the Central West End but said at the time the remaining area locations would remain open.

“They responded to our two closures by terminating all of our agreements,” Sigurdson said, adding the terminations meant his company could no longer receive supplies to operate the stores here.

“Under this new ownership things have changed drastically,” Sigurdson said. “We have not had the kind of marketing support that was required in this market. We’ve been challenged to run the restaurants on an unprofitable basis.”

Those difficulties were reflected in public records, which showed the Missouri Department of Revenue revoked Show Me Hospitality’s sales tax license this year. Businesses’ sales tax licenses are revoked for failure to remit sales tax collected from customers or failure to remit income taxes withheld from employees.

About 50 employees worked at the remaining Tim Hortons restaurants. Sigurdson said he will work with them to find employment opportunities elsewhere.

Lisa Brown • 314-340-8127 @lisabrownstl on Twitter lbrown@post-dispatch.com

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