My recollection is there were $$ issues between the franchisees and the
former franchisor who sold out to Foodtastic in February 2021. There has been peace since then apparently. But Second Cup appear posied to head to suburbs and close downtown locations: "
While the immediate focus for the new owners of the chain will be making it through the pandemic, Foodtastic chief executive Peter Mammas said that the company has set its sights on expanding the brand in a few years time. The goal is to have 300 locations by 2025, up from the existing store count of 190. “We’re going to be looking to open smaller locations, with drive-thrus, in suburban markets,” Mammas said in an interview. “Right now, a lot of these Second Cup locations in malls, downtowns and transit locations – all three parts of the business that have been extremely hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to diversify the exposure of Second Cup and move it more into the suburbs.”"
https://ca.style.yahoo.com/goodbye-...-second-cup-owner-has-in-store-155728184.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/second-cup-1.5905290.
https://foodtastic.ca