MINNEAPOLIS -- Two brands eager to create a foothold in downtown Chicago are joining forces. Target Corp. announced last week it will open a Pret A Manger restaurant in its State Street CityTarget store in July 2012. This is the first collaboration between the mass merchandiser and the London-based grab-and-go concept.
"We believe Pret A Manger will help us provide guests in downtown Chicago with the exceptional, complete shopping experience they have come to expect from Target," Annette Miller, senior vice president of grocery for Target, said in a statement released by the company. "Our Chicago CityTarget guests can pop in for a fresh sandwich or salad during their regular visits to our store for groceries or apartment essentials."
The store, located in the historic Sullivan Center in the former Carson Pirie Scott building, is part of the first round of small-format CityTarget stores to open in Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2012.
[image-nocss] "We are very excited about launching in this landmark space and are delighted to have been invited into Target," said Martin Bates, president of Pret A Manger USA. "It's another great opportunity to provide busy Chicagoans with healthy, fresh and tasty Pret food."
There are no immediate plans for other Pret A Manger locations within Target stores, a publicist for the company told Foodservice Digest.
Pret A Manger sells grab-and-go sandwiches, salads, coffee and breakfast items. With no central commissaries, each store has its own kitchen, where food prep is done daily. Stores are located in business districts, where busy professional can grab their prepackaged meals and hurry off to work. The chain has nearly 250 stores in the United Kingdom, as well as stores in New York, Hong Kong, Washington, D.C., and Chicago.
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