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Forget Mom and Pop, More Restaurant Chains Set to Flood Manhattan

By Michael P. Ventura | June 27, 2010 2:25pm | Updated on June 27, 2010 2:24pm
The Panera bread counter at the Spring 2009 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week held at Smashbox Studios on October 14, 2008 in Culver City, California. Panera Bread is reportedly eyeing several Manhattan locations.
The Panera bread counter at the Spring 2009 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week held at Smashbox Studios on October 14, 2008 in Culver City, California. Panera Bread is reportedly eyeing several Manhattan locations.
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Jesse Grant/Getty Images for IMG

By Michael Ventura

DNAinfo Senior Editor

MANHATTAN — An army of national and international chain restaurants is set to invade Manhattan, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Sandwich seller Panera Bread, German pasta chain Vapiano, and health food chain Freshii, are all eyeing openings in the borough in the coming months, the Journal said.

They join a series of burger joints set to open through Midtown, as DNAinfo reported last week.

Panera Bread is scouting for locations on the Upper East Side, Upper West Side and downtown, the Journal said.

Vapiano is working on a space on University Place, the paper said.

"Obviously it is an excellent time to be developing in the New York City market," Andrew Moger, president of Branded Concept Development, which is working with Freshii, told the Journal. He cited the economic downturn as creating a ripe environment for investment, with rents down by 30 percent.

"Right now we're in the process of looking all over Manhattan to find attractive options," Amit Kleinberger, CEO of the California-based frozen yogurt chain Menchie's, told the Journal.

Menchie's is looking to open an Upper West Side location by the end of the year, and several others elsewhere in Manhattan next year, the paper said.