Sandella's Flatbread Café Opens Six New Restaurants In 2009

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Fast Casual Flatbread Concept Continues Strong Expansion

April 22, 2009 // Franchising.com // West Redding, CT, — Sandella's Flatbread Café continues to live up to its' tagline as the largest and fastest growing flatbread concept in the world, as they announce the openings of 6 new stores since January 1st of 2009. The company now has 150 stores open nationwide, and 400 new units in development across the United States and the Middle East. The company expects to have over 1,000 units in development by 2012.

New Sandella's Flatbread Café openings since January 1st include Houston, TX, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Washington, DC, Fargo, ND, Urbana, IL, and Aliso Viejo, CA.

"We continue to remain on track to open as many as twenty new restaurants during 2009 and currently have fifteen restaurants with leases signed or already under construction," said Sandella's CEO and Founder Mike Stimola. "Our business model works during a recession; our restaurants have a lower start up cost to open and the sandwich segment continues to thrive. Our franchisees have access to amazing real estate sites we wouldn't see in a stronger economy, and getting favorable lease terms. For customers, our menu features premium quality products at affordable prices."

Sandella's Flatbread Café is a fast casual café concept featuring a health-conscious menu. The concept incorporates the hottest trends in the fast casual segment, offering consumers fresh, hot and healthy menu items such as grilled paninis, sandwiches, grilled flatbreads, chopped salads and quesadillas—all made with their own brick-oven flatbread that is low calorie and fat free.

Fargo, ND franchisee Curt Biller remarked, "As one of the newest franchisees with Sandella's we are excited to bring their great tasting flatbread products and value to the community of Fargo ND. We found the support of the franchise to be efficient and the development timelines easy to manage. From the time we signed our lease we had our door open in just over 60 days. At the time of our opening, Fargo, ND was about to face record floods as never seen in the past 120 years. This gave our restaurant the opportunity to serve the community by donating thousands of dollars of products to the hungry and tired volunteers and homeowners working to save the city and personal properties. Fargo has survived, our patrons have returned, and Sandella's has been very well received by our community."

Restaurants average 1,000-1,500 square feet and seat 30 to 40 guests.

About Sandella's Flatbread Café:

Listed in Fast Casual Magazine's 2008 and 2007 Top 100 Movers & Shakers list and Restaurants and Institutions 2008 Top 400 Restaurant Chains list, Sandella's Flatbread Café is a branded fast casual restaurant concept with premium quality, great tasting, flatbread products that are easy to execute—everything on the menu is made in four steps or less. Sandella's Flatbread Café was founded in 1994 in West Redding, Connecticut.

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