LAKEWOOD, Colo.—Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. is sticking to plans to grow mostly by adding licensed locations in 2009 as diners eat out less and credit markets remain tight.
The fast-casual coffee and bagel chain said this month that it plans to open six to eight new restaurants on its own, matched with the same number of franchise restaurants this year, where franchisees develop a new store that meets company guidelines.
It also plans to open 30 to 35 license restaurants, where licensees use the company’s brands to open bagel and coffee operations in such locations as airports, colleges and hospitals.
Einstein Noah started the year with 648 Einstein Bros. Bagels, Noah’s New York Bagels and Manhattan Bagel restaurants. A little more than one-third were franchised or licensed locations. The company aims for about half its restaurants to be franchised or licensed by 2012. Einstein Noah had 612 total restaurants at the end of 2007.
Paul Carolan, senior vice president of franchising and licensing for Lakewood-based Einstein Noah, said adding licensed and franchised stores will be key to meeting customer demand.
“We just can’t build them fast enough ourselves,” he said.
Still, the sour economic climate has affected sales. In the quarter ending Sept. 30, comparable store sales fell 1.7 percent.
Carolan said fast-casual chains haven’t been hurt as much as casual dining restaurants where customers typically stay to eat a meal and tip their servers. Franchisees have reported tighter requirements from lenders but also some room to negotiate with landlords on rental terms, Carolan said.
The process of opening new stores also has slowed, he said. In September, Einstein Noah said it hoped to have five new franchised Einstein Bros. Bagels locations open at the end of 2008. Instead it had two, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Einstein Bros. Bagels launched its franchise program in December 2006. It has not changed its requirements for franchisees to be worth at least $1 million, with $400,000 in available liquid assets.
