Einstein Bros. Bagels is eying Rocky Mount as an expansion area and is seeking investors to open up several new restaurants.
The publicly traded chain, which has no locations in the area, is soliciting franchisees to open several new locations, said Kevin Kruse, vice president of franchise development from Einstein Noah Restaurant Group.
“We’re looking for qualified franchisee folks who have had restaurant experience to join the brand,†Kruse said. “We’d require that they sign up for multiple stores, a minimum of three.â€
Kruse said it costs $600,000 to open one of the stores and the usual locations are in shopping plazas.“We like to be in areas where people work, typically around office parks and hospitals,†he said. “While we’d like to be near residential areas, really in most cases we are set up near office parks and retail and hospitals.â€
Kruse said North Carolina is considered a prime expansion area for the chain, which is the nation’s largest operator of bagel bakeries. The restaurants serve up 20 types of bagels, baked goods, made-to-order sandwiches, salads and five brands of gourmet coffee. Two-thirds of its business is breakfast and a third is lunch.
The closest Einstein Bros. Bagels is located in Greenville. More.
