Tim Hortons to stage theatrical production called ‘The Last Timbit’

The head-scratcher will come in the form of "The Last Timbit," a musical for which Tim Hortons has assembled a who’s who of Canadian artists to stage at the Elgin Theatre.

In the last year, Tim Hortons has treated cottaging Canadians to a boat drivethru, revived its beloved Dutchie doughnut and launched flatbread pizzas.

But perhaps its biggest surprise will come this summer, on the heels of its 60th anniversary on May 17, when it enters a realm so unexpected for a fast-food giant that even its executives expect some people’s first reactions to be, “What?!”

The head-scratcher will come in the form of “The Last Timbit,” a musical for which Tim Hortons has assembled a who’s who of Canadian artists to stage at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto this June.

The production is loosely based on a 2010 snowstorm that was so bad, drivers on a highway east of Sarnia, Ont., were forced to hunker down in cars and others had to wait out the inclement weather at a local Tim Hortons.

Turning the story into a theatrical production was the brainchild of marketing firm Gut.

Tims was determined to give Gut as much room to be creative as possible, so it didn’t even specify the firm had to come up with an event. All the chain said was to find “something with heart” and that would reflect the relationship the fast-food eatery has with its customers, recalled the chain’s chief marketing officer Hope Bagozzi.

When she was pitched on a play, even she was surprised.

“What on earth would we know about pulling something like this together … in a really highly professional way,” she said was her reaction.