A national chain of pastry and panini shops may soon populate a few more corners in West Florida. Corner Bakery Cafe announced last month that it was doubling its number of locations over the next couple years, and now says 10 to 12 of those will be in the Greater Tampa Bay area, including locations in Bradenton and Sarasota.

“We love Florida,” Gregg Koffler, vice president of franchise sales, told SRQ. “We have a presence on the east side of Florida, in Broward, Miami-Dade and East Palm Beach, and now we have a presence in Jacksonville. It makes sense for us to head into the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.” The chain already has one location open in Brandon, and will scout new locations in Bradenton, Sarasota, Tarpon Springs, Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Koffler expects a single franchise group will own and operate all of the locations in the West Florida market. When scouting locales, the company said it is most interested in seeing a concentration of white-collar businesses within a three-mile location. That typically guarantees success in terms of catering business. “We look for doctor’s offices, law firms, high-tech, car dealerships—people who have meetings within their four walls,” Koffler said.

Corner Bakery Cafe was acquired in 2011 by Roark Capital Group in Atlanta and today has 185 corporate-owned and franchise locations throughout the country. Firmly in the fast casual restaurant category, locations serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, boasting a menu that puts it in seeming competition with Panera Bread Company and similar chains. The company right now has more than 390 locations in development commitments. Koffler said the company is looking for interested franchise operators around the country, and is also targeting areas in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Franchise Information for Corner Bakery Cafe