One of the most popular sandwich and coffee shops in the United Kingdom and New York City is coming to California, in a big way.
Pret a Manger, commonly known as simply “Pret” in London, announced this week that it has partnered with a company named Dallas Holdings to open 40 new shops, largely in Southern California, and an additional location in New York, where the chain already has a significant presence.
There is currently just one Pret in California, in the international terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.
Named with a twist on the French fashion term “pret-a-porter,” or “ready-to-wear,” the chain first opened in the 1980s in London and soon became a staple for a quick healthy lunch in England — and eventually France, Germany, Hong Kong and more. The company specializes in slim sandwiches, salads, soups and organic coffee, and it currently has 434 shops in the U.K.
The company claims to donate the vast majority of unsold food to charities, shelters and food banks every day through the Pret Foundation. In the U.S., the company says it donates 500,000 food items to food shelters yearly, largely out of its 44 New York City locations.
After losing a third of its U.K. workforce at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the company says it’s now seeing sales comparable to before COVID-19.
“We’re very excited to be expanding into California next year with the help of Dallas Holdings,” said Jorrie Bruffett, president of Pret A Manger North America, in a statement. “We’ve been seeing steady growth week over week as customers and businesses continue to return to the office. This shift has aided in our recovery efforts and even our coffee orders have now surpassed 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.”
Few details were shared on where exactly Californians may first see the sandwich shops pop up, but Los Angeles and Orange County were mentioned as “strong initial locations” in the release. The agreement is for at least 40 units to be developed over “several years” in California, reports Restaurant Dive.
SFGATE reached out to the company on any plans to open in the Bay Area but had not heard back at time of publication.
