Atlanta Bread Expands in NE

ATLANTA-Fast-casual restaurant chain, Atlanta Bread Co. is making a push into the Northeast and plans to open 25 stores in the region over the next few years. The company already has two units open in each Connecticut and New York and six in New Jersey.

Atlanta Bread currently has 160 units mainly found in Southern states. Last year executives at the chain said they planned to open 30 stores in New York State within five years.

John Muirhead, the owner of eight franchised Burger King locations in New England, is heading up Atlanta Bread’s expansion in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. One of the reasons he decided to open Atlanta Bread units, he says, is because the fast-casual sector has not really yet penetrated his New England. So far he has opened stores in South Newington and Windsor, CT.