Corner Bakery enters the Northwest

Advertisement Corner Bakery Café has signed a franchise agreement to open its first locations in the Northwest beginning in 2013.   Northwest Bakery Cafe LP, a group made up of veteran restaurant operators who own 95 Jack in the Box locations, plans to open 18 restaurants in and around Seattle over the next seven years.   Corner Bakery currently is reviewing sites for its first locations, which likely will be in Seattle and Bellevue, Wash. This is the sixth new development agreement, totaling 81 new restaurants, that the bakery café chain has awarded so far this year. Overall, 22 agreements have been signed representing more than 279 new restaurants. Corner Bakery plans to double its footprint in the U.S. over the next four years through franchise and company-owned cafes.   "Choosing to partner with an established fast-casual concept like Corner Bakery Café was an easy decision for us," Zee Rajput, co-operator and owner of Northwest Bakery Café, said in a statement. "We are excited about the opportunity to introduce the Seattle community to Corner Bakery and confident that everything from the locally inspired décor to the freshly prepared menu will make our cafés a welcome addition in neighborhoods across the city."   Corner Bakery, which was founded in Chicago in 1991, began franchising in 2008. Today the Dallas-based company has more than 140 restaurants open in 15 states.