DALLAS — Corner Bakery Cafe continues its march toward more than doubling its U.S. footprint in the next three years with the announcement it has signed a new multi-unit development agreement with Half Baked L.L.C. to open its first restaurants in Central and Eastern Tennessee as well as the state of Kentucky beginning next year and the remaining sites over the next nine years. The initial focus will be on Nashville.

“We’ve been looking to expand our portfolio into fast-casual for about five years now, and we feel that Corner Bakery Cafe is the perfect partner and concept for this move,” said Dan Davis, president of Rafferty’s and partner of Half Baked L.L.C. “We believe Corner Bakery Cafe is a great brand with quality menu items. Some of the things that we found exceptional about the brand are the breadth of the menu and its operational excellence.”

Currently, the rapidly growing fast-casual chain also is looking to expand to new markets in Alabama, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio.

“We’re thrilled to announce this great news regarding our latest development agreement, and expanding the reach of our signature neighborhood bakery cafe experience into new markets such as Nashville and Kentucky,” said Gregg Koffler, vice-president of franchise sales for Corner Bakery Cafe. “Neighborhoods are an important part of both communities, and we are confident that our cafes will quickly become a local favorite in these new markets.”