Così (restaurant)

Così
NASDAQ: COSI
Formerly called
 Xando, Xando Cosi
Industry fast-casual restaurants
Founded New York City, United States (1996)
Headquarters Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Number of locations
 102 (March, 2015)
Key people
 RJ Dourney (CEO)
Website www.getcosi.com
Cosi on South Michigan Ave, Chicago, Illinois

Così, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is a fast-casual restaurant chain that is known for its homemade flatbread. The name comes from the opera Così fan tutte, which was a favorite of the original owner.[1]

Corporate history

The original Così restaurant was based on a small cafe in Paris, France. Cosi was founded in the United States in 1996, and there are currently over 100 locations in the continental United States, Costa Rica, and the United Arab Emirates. In October 1999, Così merged with the cafe/bar chain XandO (formerly ZuZu).[2] Così's peak traffic was during the lunch hour, while XandO did heavy business in the evenings, allowing the two companies to complement each other's strengths. Cosi restaurants are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Cosi implemented a loyalty program in 2007.

In June 2010 Così sold its District of Columbia stores to Capitol C Restaurants who will run them under a franchise agreement.[3] Capitol C is the owner of Qdoba Mexican Grill.[4]

RJ Dourney was voted CEO in March 2014 by Cosi's board of directors.[5]

Fare

Fare include sandwiches, soups, salads, flatbread pizzas, bowls, coffee, and handcrafted beverages. Cosi's menu features a variety of menu items that include unique variations, such as providing options to receive combination plates with half-orders of various items. The company has a signature item called Squagels, which is a square-shaped bagel. Cosi's bread is baked in an open flame oven in full view of customers. Their flatbread is based on a 2,000-year-old recipe.[4] Customers receive a sample of bread when they order.

All Così restaurants also feature a full-service espresso bar and some serve alcohol. They are also known for serving s'mores as a dessert..

References

  1. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". Così. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  2. ↑ Karyn Strauss (1999-10-04). "Xando-Cosi merger seen as target for larger audiences". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  3. ↑ "Cosi sells 13 Washington, D.C., restaurants for $8.4M". Fastcasual.com. April 27, 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 "About Us". Così. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  5. ↑ Wohl, Jessica (16 April 2014). "Cosi moving from Deerfield to Boston". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 April 2015.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Così.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, October 27, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.