ALLENTOWN, Pa., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/-- The Retail Brand Group, LLC (RBG) a newly-created fast-casual restaurant company, announced its official launch today with plans to open as many as 250 new company-operated and franchise locations in the coming year. RBG's eight wildly popular and award-winning, fast-casual restaurant brands, including Pandini's®, Sub Connection®, and a 2004 Hot Concepts Winner Jazzman's® Cafe, currently operate in more than 375 campus, corporate and healthcare locations nationwide. Until now, RBG operated as a division within Sodexho USA, the nation's leading provider of contract food and facilities management services, with the group offering branded retail concepts to Sodexho's 5,000 college campus, hospital and corporate clients. With its new status as a wholly-owned subsidiary company, RBG will bring its fast-casual brands to customers beyond the contract service world, with plans to open 150 to 250 company-owned and franchised locations across the nation over the next 12 to 15 months. "These brands have proven themselves to be enormously successful among Sodexho clients and customers, and bringing them to a wider audience is clearly the next logical step," said RBG President Damon Liever, noting that the group's brands have enjoyed close to 200% growth since 2001. "By gaining access to the broader consumer base, we'll be able to accelerate our growth at an even faster pace than before." RBG will offer targeted franchise opportunities for its brands to independent as well as multi-site operators of stand-alone locations, shopping centers, strip malls, airports and other venues. The move by RBG marks the first time that a company with this extensive of a portfolio originating in the contract dining segment has been expanded into the commercial restaurant marketplace. "The wide range of opportunity we have had with Sodexho's client locations gives us a key advantage over most concepts in the marketplace -- it has allowed us to thoroughly test our brands in an extensive array of venues across the country," Liever said. "RBG brands are popular with consumers of all ages -- from college students to business executives to seniors. We appeal to a diverse consumer population by having a comprehensive offer of eight fully-conceived brands. And our strong track record makes our brands very attractive to, for example, a developer looking to put multiple concepts into a lifestyle center or a shopping mall." With a comprehensive portfolio of eight distinctive restaurant brands available for franchising, including the award-winning Jazzman's Cafe, Retail Brand Group, LLC, ensures an unparalleled dining experience in any environment. Backed by $6 billion-Sodexho, Inc., and the experience of 375 locations nationwide, Retail Brand Group has branded solutions suited for virtually any venue. From bistros and coffeehouses, to upscale pizza, gourmet burgers, and authentic ethnic cuisine, Retail Brand Group turns dining into a memorable event. Learn more about the fast-casual concepts available for franchising at http://www.retailbrandgroup.com/. RBG's comprehensive portfolio of distinctive restaurant brands includes:

Jazzman's® Cafe - Upscale - coffeehouse plus a whole lot more – making fresh baked goods, soups, salads, and sandwiches an experience to remember; Nation's Restaurant News Hot Concepts! winner 2004. Pandini's®- Italian bistro that combines old world classics and new world tastes, including the signature Labretti™ fresh from a custom fire deck oven; named 'Chain to Watch' in 2004 by Restaurants & Institutions. Sub Connection®- Definitely not your ordinary sub shop -- these subs are made with high-quality meats, garden-fresh produce and fresh bread all made-to-order. Sky Ranch Grill®- A burger the way burgers should be -- the finest ingredients, freshly grilled beef, chicken or portabella piled sky high -- right in front of you. Mein Bowl®- Display cooking in authentic woks accentuating the pungent spices, and aromatic sauces providing intricate and imaginative entrees and sides. Salsa Rico®- Fresh-Mex grill salutes a way of life -- Baja-Style! Tacos, 1 lb. burritos and salsas made fresh daily; pure goodness from the freshest ingredients. Pete's Arena®- Pizza as traditional as pizza can get -- just what customers are hungry for, available whole and by the slice. Strutters®- Chicken, anyway you want it. From sandwiches to salads, wraps to tenders, Strutters puts you in charge of how you have your chicken and eat it too. About Sodexho USA Sodexho USA (http://www.sodexhousa.com/) is the leading provider of food and facilities management in the United States, with $6 billion in annual revenue and 110,000+ employees. Sodexho USA offers innovative outsourcing solutions in food service, housekeeping, grounds keeping, plant operations and maintenance, asset management, and laundry services to more than 6,000 corporations, health care, long term care and retirement centers, schools, college campuses, military and remote sites in North America. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD, Sodexho USA proudly serves as the official food service provider for the US Marine Corps. source:Retail Brand Group, LLC