Award-Winning Franchisee Plans to Open Restaurant in Greater Cherry Hill Area
June 26, 2009 // Franchising.com // Cherry Hill, NJ – Manhattan Bagel®, the popular neighborhood bagel bakery featuring genuine New York style bagels, is pleased to announce the signing of a development agreement with Praveen Patel to open a Manhattan Bagel restaurant in the Greater Cherry Hill, New Jersey, area.
Patel has operated a Manhattan Bagel restaurant in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, for eight years and was named Franchisee of the Year in 2008. His current store is among the top five in sales volume among all Manhattan Bagel restaurants.
"I am pleased to bring the crave-able food and comfortable atmosphere of Manhattan Bagel to another location in the Greater Cherry Hill area," Patel said. "Now our guests will have even more of an opportunity to try our great-tasting menu items, all of them made with high-quality ingredients."
Manhattan Bagel already has nearby restaurants open in Cherry Hill and Moorestown.
"Praveen is an outstanding franchisee, and we have the utmost confidence that he will continue to represent everything the brand stands for," said Kevin Kruse, vice president of franchise development with Manhattan Bagel. "Residents of Greater Cherry Hill can expect to enjoy the same great food and service he provides customers at his Wilmington restaurant. We are committed to supporting Praveen and all of our franchisees, present and future, as the system continues to grow."
Patel's agreement with Manhattan Bagel is the second recent franchise expansion deal for the brand. The company also just announced a new store planned for Summit, New Jersey.
Manhattan Bagel's innovative menu items include 15 flavors of bagels and a wide variety of cream cheeses, made-to-order breakfast and lunch sandwiches, fresh salads, hearty soups, baked goods for breakfast and afternoon snacks, along with premium coffees. The chain's hot breakfast and lunch sandwiches are grilled, a distinguishing characteristic in the quick-casual bakery segment that provides Manhattan Bagel with a competitive edge. Most chains use microwaves to heat their sandwiches.
Manhattan Bagel's full menu is available all day.
"We are very excited about the strong interest being shown in the Manhattan Bagel brand from experienced restaurant operators," said Paul Carolan, senior vice president of franchising and licensing for Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, franchisor of the Manhattan Bagel brand. "Manhattan Bagel has been a solid performer over the last two decades, and we see a bright future ahead of us with solid franchise partners on board."
About Einstein Noah Restaurant Group
Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. is a leading company in the quick-casual restaurant industry that operates and licenses locations primarily under the Einstein Bros. and Noah's New York Bagels brands and primarily franchises locations under the Manhattan Bagel brand. The company's retail system consists of approximately 600 restaurants in 36 states and the District of Columbia. It also operates a dough production facility. The company's stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol BAGL.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements or statements which may be deemed or construed to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "forecast," "estimate," "project," "plan to," "is designed to," "expectations," "intend," "indications," "expect," "should," "would," "believe," "target", "trend", "will be able", "is going to be", "will play" and similar expressions and all statements which are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the actual results or achievements to differ from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include but are not limited to the following: the ability of Praveen Patel to build, open and successfully run a Manhattan Bagel location is dependent upon, among other factors, his ability to find a suitable location, reach acceptable lease terms, have adequate capital, find available contractors, obtain licenses and permits, locate and train staff appropriately and properly manage the new restaurant. These and other risks are more fully discussed in the Company's SEC filings.
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