East Texas Business

By GREG JUNEK
Business Editor

To students on many college campuses, Einstein Bros. Bagels is a regular stop. Now, Tyler franchisees Wilbur, Matt and Allison McKinney want it to be a major stop for East Texans, be it on a college campus or elsewhere.

The McKinneys own the local Smoothie King franchise. And they say Einstein Bros. has them excited.

“I’ve eaten at Einstein Bros. Bagels for years,” Allison McKinney said. “There’s a bunch of them in the Dallas market and the Houston market. I’m from Tyler, born and raised, and a lot of Tylerites shop in Dallas and Houston, so I go to Einstein’s every chance I get. It’s a great product and I crave their food.”

Matt McKinney, her husband, said he, his wife and his father, Wilbur McKinney, plan to open three stores in three years, which is the company’s expectations, in Smith and Gregg counties.

“We’re in the search process for our first location,” Matt McKinney said. “For our first store, we’re looking in the Tyler market.”

The McKinneys, who own two Smoothie Kings in Tyler, one in Nacogdoches and one in Longview, say they are considering locating in strip centers or free-standing buildings, and leasing rather than buying.

Allison McKinney said each Einstein Bros. Bagels store will employ between 25 and 30 people.

“We are locally owned and operated as we are in Smoothie King, and we will be, too, in Einstein’s,” she said. “We’ll have local ties to the community. We’ll create job growth here in the Tyler market and the Tyler dollars will be invested locally.”

Einstein Bros Bagels is a unique concept in the fast-casual bakery segment, she said. Everything is made fresh in the store.

Stores feature bagels, Darn Good Coffee, hearty soup, fresh salads and desserts. Other items include egg-based sandwiches for breakfast, fresh-poured orange juice, fruit cups, yogurt parfaits, a complete line of sandwiches, cookies, cakes and muffins. It has a barista station with coffee, espresso and frozen drinks.

Allison McKinney said it will also cater under the name Fancy Schmancy Catering.

The store’s name is a registered trademark of Einstein and Noah Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. of Lakewood, Colo. Aside from its licensed stores it has more than 330 company stores.

The group posted first-quarter revenue of $103.26 million, compared to $96.26 million for the same quarter last year.

First-quarter earnings were $3.84 million, or 23 cents per diluted share, compared to $1.13 million, or 10 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter 2007.

“The company is having a great year,” said Paul Carolan, Einstein Noah Restaurant Group senior vice president of franchising and licensing. “We look like we’re going to build another 12 or so company stores, and right now we’re projecting to open up another 35 licensed stores, and that’s in more non-traditional areas, like colleges, hospitals, airports and such.”

Einstein Bros. Bagels is in 130 licensed locations, of which more than 90 are on college campuses across the country, Carolan said, adding that the company only began expanding through franchisees last year.

“We’ve had such a high demand for our brand that we decided it’s time to start franchising,” he said.

Carolan called Tyler “a great little community” that would welcome the store, as other communities across Texas have.

When Einstein Bros. opened its the Texas market, it saw there were pockets of communities across the state, he said.

“”Since I’m from Texas, I have a personal vested interest in growing in Texas,” Carolan, a Fort Worth resident, said. “As a result of that, we had a lot of inquiries for our brand. … Texas is a great state to be building anything in right now. It’s got a great economy and it hasn’t really been affected by the rest of the world.”

The McKinneys will look at available real estate and maximize their coverage for the customer base, he said.

“I can’t really get down to how many will be in Tyler specifically, but in the Tyler market there will be three stores,” he added.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area has about 15 stores and Houston has about 18, Carolan said.

College students “have us figured out,” he said. “It really speaks to them. It’s freshly made onsite for them. It’s portable. … We’re doing a lot of colleges right now in Texas. I bet you we’re in about six to eight colleges down there.”

Most stores are not open into the night. Carolan said most close around 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. Some, however — such as stores on some college campuses — will stay open around the clock.

NEW VENTURE: Matt and Allison McKinney, franchisees for Einstein Bros. Bagles, say they’re excited about bringing the concept to the Tyler area. The McKinneys, who, with Matt’s father, Wilbur, own four Smoothie Kings in East Texas, plan to open three Einstein Bros. Bagels stores in three years.
((Staff Photo By Tom Turner))