This story appears in the
March 2001 issue of
Entrepreneur.
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The doors behind him shut out the January chill as Brian Wood
stepped into his new store just before opening day. Standing on
polished ceramic tile floors, he inspected the framed murals of New
York City, then turned his attention to signs pointing out the
store's five departments: bagels, sandwiches, hot coffee,
smoothies and catering.
Wood, 39, had opened stores before, but this one was different.
Wood's Newtown, Pennsylvania, Manhattan Bagel was the first to
open with the system's new store design. Reducing construction
costs by $25,000 to $50,000, the design cuts corners on artwork,
signage and flooring and emphasizes that Manhattan Bagel isn't
just about bagels.
"We do a lot of things people don't think about,"
Wood says. "If a family knew they could have breakfast
delivered to their house instead of rolling out of bed [to make
breakfast], they would probably stay at home and let us bring them
some bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches."
Whether it's delivery, catering, coffee or lunch, Manhattan
Bagel has focused on expanding its offerings. With the success of
his first Manhattan Bagel five miles away in Richboro,
Pennsylvania, Wood expects sales of $525,000 and more than $560,000
this year in Richboro and Newtown, respectively. Not too shabby,
especially when you consider he's already saved $50,000 with
the second store's $175,000 start-up price tag. And, just in
case his businesses need a little help to reach those sales
figures, he'll be close at hand. Wood's new house sits less
than a quarter-mile from his Richboro store.
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