I had my first ever Chimney Stax today. Saw an article in the paper and then happened to be walking past their stand at Young Eglinton.
Went for the cinnamon and sugar. Was greeted by a polite girl behind the counter, she recommended I have it with cream cheese filling. An excellent recommendation that really complemented it.
It was great. Tasted fresh and the filling made it even more delicious.
Would I get another one. At seven dollars probably not anytime soon. If it was around the five dollar mark I would get one on a regular basis. ( That being said I have no idea if they would make any profit if they sold them at five dollars)
Location has a lot to do with the food people buy. When I go skating in Ottawa on the Rideau Canal I just have to have a Beaver Tail and I don't care what it cost. A Beaver Tail bought from a shopping mall just doesn't taste the same.
Chimney Stax I feel may fall into the same category. I have heard of some people waiting an hour to get one at the Christmas Market. Yes I totally believe it. But at Young Eg there is no wait at all. Buying one of these and walking round a Christmas market with all the magical lights and the Christmas chill in the air has a completely different feel to buying one in Young Eg shopping mall and sitting outside Metro on a bench.
This business will always do well at various outdoor markets or weddings but I don't know about shopping malls. I hope I'm wrong as I live nearby and really like them. I feel in the summer if they really pushed ice cream fillings they would sell well.
If it was my business I would be walking round with a tray of samples and coupons for a dollar off. (whilst I waited for my order two girls walked past and said "oh that's new, wonder what they taste like") Stand at the top of the escalators with free samples, there is well over a thousand people an hour going up and down them. The flow of people walking through Young Eg is unbelievably high. People never turn down free samples or money off coupons. I would also offer half sizes to try and get all the kids from North Toronto school. At lunch they almost all have a Tim Hortons doughnut in their hand. Spread the word Chimney Stax is just as good, actually no, its much better!!!