Corner Bakery has big expansion plans for Tampa Bay
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 22, 2015

Corner Bakery has prototypes that range from 3,400 to 4,200 square feet, the spokesman said, and targets neighborhoods that are in close to proximity to large office districts.

In Tampa Bay, the company said it will focus on Tampa, Bradenton, Tarpon Springs, St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It already has a location in Brandon.

There are 185 company-owned and franchised locations around the country, including several in Jacksonville and South Florida.

Corner Bakery is among several restaurant and retail concepts that want to enter the Tampa Bay market, but with almost zero vacant retail space in prime neighborhoods, there's nowhere for them to go. But the more demand there is, the higher rents will be - and retail rents are approaching a tipping point of making new construction and redevelopment projects viable in areas like South Tampa and St. Petersburg's Fourth Street corridor.