Corner Bakery Cafe, the fast-growing bakery cafe franchise favored for its signature line of grilled panini, freshly baked sweets and made-to-order breakfast scramblers, has signed an agreement with Yum & Chill Restaurant Group to bring 30 new locations to Florida and New Jersey over the next five to seven years.
Plans call for 20 cafes in New Jersey and 10 cafes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg market. The new restaurants will help boost the local economy in those states by adding more than 1,200 jobs locally. Growth will be focused in Northern and Central New Jersey, as well as Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties in Florida.
Based in Warren, NJ, Yum & Chill Restaurant Group is a team of highly experienced restaurant developers with a diverse portfolio of brands. Partner Nirav Mehta says Corner Bakery Cafe will be a welcome addition to both areas.
“We are excited that Yum & Chill and Corner Bakery Cafe are teaming up to help grow the brand in these two states,” said Mehta. “With the young, professional and active culture in these particular markets, we feel that Corner Bakery Cafe caters to the needs of tomorrow while addressing today’s healthy lifestyles.”
Growing from a small bread bakery on a corner in downtown Chicago to a national cornerstone of the fast-casual dining segment, Corner Bakery Cafe offers fresh, made-to-order food served during all dayparts. Corner Bakery Cafe also provides a robust, best-in-class catering platform, presenting fresh food perfectly packaged for delivery or pick-up.
Since being acquired by Roark Capital Group in 2011, Corner Bakery Cafe has accelerated its national expansion plans through franchising, with plans to double the brand’s presence in the next three years. The bakery cafe brand currently boasts a unit-level EBITDA over 18 percent and an average unit volume exceeding $2.2 million.
“There are multiple untapped markets in New Jersey and Florida which make perfect sense for our restaurant brand to thrive,” said Mike Hislop, CEO of Corner Bakery Cafe. “We’ve perfected the Corner Bakery Cafe business model by running company-owned cafes for more than 20 years and know that our brand caters well to dense populations and family-focused lifestyles.”
Corner Bakery Cafe is a fast-casual restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner to guests in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Established in 1991, Corner Bakery Cafe restaurants are owned and operated by CBC Restaurant Corp. with more than 130 company-owned and franchised locations around the country. Founded on a philosophy of creating a place for people to relax and gather with family and friends, Corner Bakery Cafe features innovative, seasonal menu options while delivering a premier bakery cafe experience in the heart of neighborhoods everywhere. For more information, visit www.cornerbakerycafe.com.
