News

Corner Bakery to double Texas presence

December 19, 2010

Corner Bakery Café has announced its plan for substantial new growth in its home state of Texas, with new and existing franchise partners slated to bring more locations to Houston, fuel expansion into San Antonio and East Texas, and add a new cafe in El Paso. Also, with company-owned locations on the horizon in Austin and greater Central Texas, Corner Bakery Café is well on track to more than double its number of locations in Texas, and throughout the U.S., within the next four years.

“We are thrilled by the reception and enthusiasm surrounding the brand in our own home state of Texas,” said John LaBarge, vice president of franchise business development at Corner Bakery Café. “We already have 22 thriving franchise and company-owned Corner Bakery locations around the state, and the prospect of adding at least 50 additional cafes in the next eight years is very exciting. As the fast-casual segment continues to increase in popularity, we see tremendous opportunity to introduce Corner Bakery Café to guests located throughout Texas and in new states from coast-to-coast.”

Fairview Capital Management Group LLC., a Houston-based company, has purchased the two existing and formerly company-owned Corner Bakery Café locations in Houston, and will open an additional 19 locations in the Houston area throughout the next eight years. The group is led by investors Dr. Ricky G. Caples, Adam G. Beasley and Dr. Jesse H. Roberts III., who partnered with Steve Whiddon, most recently the regional vice president of operations for Corner Bakery Café.

In the next six years, new Corner Bakery Café franchisees Chris and Mariah Pheiffer of Whistler Bakery Group LLC will open 11 cafes in the San Antonio area. The Pheiffers are both Culinary Institute of America graduates and have extensive food service backgrounds. Chris’s experience includes working for Marriott International, where he helped the company develop innovative menus and opened several of its flagship properties within the Americas.

In October, Corner Bakery Café announced its partnership with franchisee RKO Bakeries LLC of Tyler, Texas. President and owner Robert Owens, along with his wife, VP and co-owner Kandi Owens, plan to open eight locations in East Texas and North Louisiana during the next five years. Their first cafe, located in Tyler, Texas, is slated to open in 2011.

Existing Corner Bakery Café franchise partner Bakery Ventures I Ltd. plans to open its second location in El Paso and has plans to open six locations in total.

Corner Bakery has 70 units open throughout the U.S.