Popular British chain announces major US expansion with 40 new stores

Popular British sandwich shop chain Pret a Manger is poised for a major expansion in the US, with plans to open dozens of stores nationwide.

Pret announced this week that it is working with Dallas Holdings to open 40 new stores in Southern California and an additional store in New York.

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The company currently operates 64 Pret A Manger stores in 7 states and announced last year that franchising would become an important part of its global growth strategy.

The chain first opened in London in the 1980s and soon became a staple on Britain’s high streets before expanding globally to locations such as France, Germany and Hong Kong.

The company specializes in lean sandwiches, salads, soups and organic-certified coffees.

The company says it donates most of its unsold groceries to charities, animal shelters and food banks every day through the Pret Foundation.

In the US alone, the company says it donates 500,000 groceries to food homes every year, mostly from its 44 locations in New York City.

Their latest agreement calls for at least 40 units to be developed in California over “several years.”

In a statement, Jorrie Bruffett, President of Pret A Manger North America, said: “We are extremely excited to be expanding into California next year with the help of Dallas Holdings.

“We are seeing steady growth week in and week out as customers and businesses continue to return to the office.

“This postponement has aided our recovery efforts and even our coffee orders have now exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

“We believe this is the right time to identify new partners to help us enter new markets where we know there is a demand for Pret.”