Manhattan Bagel(R) Bakes a Taste of the Big City in Morris Plains

By: Manhattan Bagel | 1 Shares 144 Reads

Local Entrepreneurs Open Restaurant at 1004 Tabor Road

September 23, 2009 // Franchising.com // Morris Plains, New Jersey - Steven Raibick and Sam Gabr are satisfying Morris Plains residents' craving for big city tastes with today's opening of Manhattan Bagel at 1004 Tabor Road in the Plaza 53 Shopping Center. Available for take-out, dine-in and catering, Manhattan Bagel's innovative menu features 15 flavors of bagels, fresh breakfast and lunch sandwiches, salads and premium coffees served daylong.

"We are thrilled to offer a restaurant that will impress new and longtime Manhattan Bagel fans with distinctive menu options and a vibrant dining environment," said Gabr. "I want to offer local residents a true neighborhood gathering place that provides the best in quick casual bakery fare."

Gabr, the operating partner of the new Manhattan Bagel, brings 10 years of restaurant operations and franchise experience to the new endeavor. During the past decade, Gabr has worked his way up from line employee, store manager, district manager and general manager positions into franchise ownership.

"I've seen what it takes to become a favorite destination within the community and Manhattan Bagel has all the elements," said Gabr. "It's great food, offered at a great price, in a welcoming environment."

Reflecting Manhattan Bagel's newly designed prototype restaurant and serving the brand's signature dishes, the new Manhattan Bagel location brings to life the chain's evolution from a bagel/breakfast brand to a quick casual restaurant concept. Manhattan Bagel's full-flavored menu offers a variety of tasty sandwich breakfast and lunch creations at any time of the day. Additionally, the new Morris Plains location will feature an espresso bar with a unique barista station where customers can get their favorite hot and frozen espresso-based drinks.

For breakfast, Manhattan Bagel's menu includes freshly made bagels, and delicious, grilled egg sandwiches made to order with a choice of bacon, sausage, pork roll or ham. Lunch at Manhattan Bagel features an array of interesting and unusual sandwich combinations and salads. Sandwiches include the Wall Street roast beef, garnished with horseradish sauce on a freshly baked cheddar roll and the Pancetta Grilled Chicken Tostini - grilled chicken breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato topped with garlic & herb cream cheese on freshly baked and toasted pesto focaccia bread - among others. All sandwiches are served on a choice of focaccia, multi-grain bread, bagels, rolls or wraps.

Salads range from the Asian chicken salad, served with appetizing grilled chicken, shredded cabbage, carrots, cashews, cucumbers and sesame dressing, to the Waldorf salad which embraces a variety of fruit flavors, walnuts, fresh gorgonzola cheese and raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

"When customers sit down to eat Manhattan Bagel's food, we want them to taste our innovation in bagels and beyond. We want them to experience the 'wow factor' with each bite," said Jeff O'Neill, chief executive officer and president of Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, the franchisor of Manhattan Bagel. "Our new location in Morris Plains fits in perfectly with our goal to be at the leading edge of what casual bakery customers want."

About Einstein Noah Restaurant Group

Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. is a leading company in the quick casual restaurant industry that operates 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 under the symbol BAGL.

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