Einstein Bros. Bagels plans 300 new stores, creating jobs and promotions

Einstein Bros. Bagels is planning to add more than 300 new bakeries across the United States by 2030, a buildout that could reshape the breakfast labor market as much as the bagel business itself. The chain said the expansion would push it past 1,000 stores, turning a growth target into a test of whether it can hire, train, and keep enough people for the hardest shifts of the day.

That means early-day work becomes the center of the story. More stores create more openings for bakers, baristas, shift leaders, assistant managers, and general managers, but breakfast concepts live and die on morning execution. If Einstein Bros. grows as planned, the company will need enough people who can show up before dawn, run a tight line, and keep service moving when commuters are already at the counter.

The company is leaning into that challenge with a new prototype called Elevate the Morning, which it says is designed to scale quickly around fresh food, speed, and a warmer guest experience. CEO Jessica DePetro said Americans have “voted with their mornings,” while chief operations officer Adam Modzel said the design starts with fresh food, welcoming spaces, and easy navigation for dine-in or on-the-go guests. Einstein Bros. said all new store openings in 2026 will use the new design, and Cincinnati will serve as an innovation hub for remodels and pilot changes at existing Einstein Bros. and former Bruegger’s Bagels locations.

The numbers behind the expansion show a chain already on solid footing. Einstein Bros. said the U.S. bagel category is worth about $5.8 billion a year and is growing around 5% annually, and the company says it bakes more than 150 million bagels a year. Nation’s Restaurant News put Einstein Bros. at 720 units and $667.2 million in domestic sales at the end of 2024, nearly 3% higher than the prior year. Restaurant Business, using Technomic data, listed the chain at $649 million in 2024 U.S. sales, up from $583 million in 2023.

For workers, that kind of momentum can cut both ways. A larger footprint usually means more internal promotion, more chances to move from hourly work into management, and more room to cross-train across prep, production, and register duties. It can also stretch labor supply fast, especially in a business where opening shifts are already the most difficult to staff and where turnover can be high when managers are expected to hold down speed, consistency, and labor control at the same time.

Einstein Bros. is hardly expanding in a vacuum. PopUp Bagels has said it wants 100 locations by the end of 2027, and the bagel race is getting more crowded just as brands push convenience and service as breakfast differentiators. Einstein Bros., created in 1995 under Boston Chicken, filed for bankruptcy in 2000, was acquired by New World Coffee, and became part of Panera Brands in August 2021. That history matters because this latest growth plan looks less like a launch than a company trying to turn a steadier operating base into a broader ladder for workers who can keep the mornings moving.