Corner Bakery Cafe: Breaks into Northern California

Dallas / TX. (cb) Corner Bakery Café announced a new area development agreement signalling the brand´s first entry into Northern California. Franchise partner Buon Hospitality is led by industry veteran Sam Hirbod, CEO and president of Pacific Convenience + Fuels LLC, a well-established franchising company that operates over 500 fuel, restaurant and convenience businesses in seven states. Under the Buon Hospitality umbrella, Hirbod and his team will open a total of 32 Corner Bakery Cafe locations in the Greater Bay Area in seven years. The first two locations will open by mid-2012 and the total footprint will extend as far south as San Jose and as far north as Napa Valley.

«After extensive due-diligence comparing Corner Bakery Cafe to its competitors, we found it to be the premium brand in the bakery cafe space, head and shoulders above the other contenders», said Sam Hirbod, president and CEO of Buon Hospitality. «Corner Bakery Cafe´s strong made-to-order breakfast, lunch and dinner offerings and inviting atmosphere appeal to every demographic and it complements our customers´ needs, palates and lifestyles. Our partnership with Corner Bakery Cafe offers the community a restaurant experience that the Greater Bay Area is missing and will bring over two thousand jobs to the region in the next seven years».

«Given our success in Southern California, we have always been interested in finding the right franchise partner for Northern California and Sam and his team at Buon Hospitality definitely fit the bill», said John LaBarge, vice president of franchise business at Corner Bakery Cafe. «They are rooted in the area, they take a lot of pride in their work and they are already showing an incredible dedication to growing the Corner Bakery Cafe brand. Furthermore, their ability to penetrate the Greater Bay Area market so swiftly and so aggressively speaks to the strength of their organization and its infrastructure. Our brand is in good hands».

Buon Hospitality´s Greater Bay Area territory includes San Francisco, San Jose, East Bay, Marin Country and Napa Valley and represents the largest Corner Bakery Cafe market to date. Buon Hospitality is currently in deep negotiations with multiple sites throughout the market for their first two Corner Bakery Cafe locations, scheduled to open by mid-2012. The 32 planned Northern California locations bring the total number of committed franchise locations for Corner Bakery Cafe to over 200, more than doubling the number of total locations in the next three and a half years.

Known for its innovative menu featuring a wide variety of egg scramblers and oatmeals for breakfast, flavourful sandwiches and signature panini, homemade soups, signature salads, fresh baked goods and an extensive catering menu, Corner Bakery Cafe has been delighting guests nationwide with fresh, made-to-order meals in a welcoming and cozy atmosphere for 20 years. Guests can also stay connected with free Wi-Fi while enjoying a bottomless cup of hand-roasted coffee.

From a small bread bakery on a corner in downtown Chicago to a national cornerstone of fast casual dining, Corner Bakery Cafe opened its first location in 1991 and now operates 124 locations across the United States.

About Corner Bakery Cafe

Corner Bakery Cafe is a fast casual restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner to guests in Atlanta, Chicago, Clifton, N.J., Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, El Paso, Texas, Houston, Jackson, Miss., Los Angeles/Orange County, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Rochester, N.Y., Salt Lake City, San Diego, Tyler, Texas and Washington, D.C. Established in 1991, Corner Bakery Cafe restaurants are owned and operated by CBC Restaurant Corporation with 124 company-owned and franchised locations around the country. Roark Capital Group´s June 2011 acquisition of Corner Bakery Cafe has provided further resources and support for the greatly accelerated pace of growth of both company-owned and franchise development. Founded on a philosophy of creating a place for people to relax and gather with family and friends, Corner Bakery Cafe offers a casual atmosphere featuring innovative, seasonal menu options ranging from hot breakfasts and signature panini to handcrafted salads, sandwiches and mouthwatering sweets. Corner Bakery Cafe offers dine-in, to-go and catering service for any occasion. Corner Bakery Cafe delivers a premier bakery cafe experience in the heart of neighborhoods everywhere and gives back to the communities it serves as a Share our Strength «No Kid Hungry» campaign partner, striving to end childhood hunger in America.

About Buon Hospitality

Buon Hospitality is an offshoot of Pacific Convenience + Fuels LLC, a franchising company based in Pleasanton, California. Pacific Convenience + Fuels currently owns more than 500 fuel, restaurant and convenience stores in seven states through multiple channels of trade including company owned and operated, fee operated and dealer operations. Other Pacific Convenience + Fuels restaurant franchise brands include Wendy´s, Subway and Baja Fresh, half of which are free-standing and half of which are integrated into convenience stores. President and CEO Sam Hirbod is a recognized entrepreneur, executive and leader of the industry. With a commitment and discipline for creative and synergy-producing deal making, Hirbod has come a long way since purchasing his first service station in 1997 in Menlo Park, California. One of Hirbod´s strongest convictions is that intelligent, efficient and responsible entrepreneurism adds tremendous value to our economy, our communities and our daily lives. With this new franchise deal for 32 Corner Bakery Cafe locations, Buon Hospitality brings a fresh, inventive bakery cafe experience and over two thousand jobs to the Greater Bay Area.