Just Baked, a Polish bakery chain being rebranded for an entrance to the U.S. market, has signed two Manhattan leases ahead of a bold plan to open 50 stores in New York, signposting a direct challenger to French bakery Maison Kayser.
The two bakeries, which will sell a range of sandwiches, coffee and pastries, are set to open in a 1,400-square-foot Tribeca storefront at 88 West Broadway, and into another location at Westfield’s Oculus downtown.
Tomasz Nowakowski, whose family started Gorąco Polecam Nowakowski, a Polish bakery chain with 50 stores in and around Warsaw, co-founded the U.S.-branded bakery with Bartek Rychcik. Nowakowski said he plans to open 50 stores in New York in five years, and noted that Maison Kayser would be its largest competitor, which has 17 stores in the city.
“We signed the first ones this year, after that we would like to just see how the business will go,” Nowakowski said. “Right now we would like to focus on Manhattan and New York.”
Jedd Horn of Colliers International (Credit: LinkedIn)
Jake Horowitz of Colliers International (Credit: Twitter)
A Colliers International team led by Jedd Horn and Jake Horowitz represented the bakery on both deals. Horowitz would not specify what rents were signed, but noted the asking price at the Oculus was $450 per square foot, and $200 per square foot on Broadway. Horowitz said his team had been searching for a space since September last year, and the two deal were negotiated over four months.
Compass represented the owner of the 88 West Broadway space, B. Jaffe Real Estate Co. LP., which formerly was occupied by Wicked Juice.
In selecting the company’s first storefronts, Nowakowski said he had an eye on the Oculus for some time.
“We really wanted to be over there because we have an apartment next to the Oculus and walk past it every day,” he said.