Because Einstein Bros. Bagels' college units are much smaller than traditional stores, they offer a limited menu of the brand's best-selling bagels, sandwiches and salads. To prevent menu fatigue, it sells seasonal limited-time offers.

Of the 35 licensed units slated to open this year, more than half will be on college campuses nationwide. Since 2001, Einstein has worked with concessionaires including Sodexo and Aramark to open 80 licensed units on colleges. The company decided to pick up the pace following a turnaround it began in 2003, which it deems responsible for 14 consecutive quarters of positive comps and an IPO last June. It opened 23 college units in 2007.

College locations work well for Einstein because it targets well-educated, on-the-go consumers. The fast-casual concept offers healthful, made-to-order items such as sandwiches, salads and coffee drinks. “It's all one stop and it's portable,” says Paul Carolan, senior vice president of franchising and licensing for parent Einstein Noah Restaurant Group. “So it meets what the kids are looking for these days. They're really focused on speed, convenience, freshness.”

By having units on colleges, Einstein seeks to strengthen its connection with customers familiar with the concept, which has 465 units across 36 states. Yet it allows the company to introduce the brand to new consumers and cultivate their loyalty over four years.

“When you're able to get into a nontraditional location such as college campuses, you have a great way to share your brand—the essence of the brand—with up-and-coming consumers and consumers you may not reach until you get to their neighborhood,” Carolan says of college students.

Because colleges have the demographics that Einstein looks for, the brand can fit in almost any college, Carolan says. That's why it has units in diverse locations ranging from inner-city colleges to affluent private colleges in the suburbs to state schools in urban, cosmopolitan cities.

Carolan says logistics usually determine whether Einstein opens in a particular college. The unit must be within Einstein's distribution network and have kitchen facilities, storage and back-of-the-house support nearby. In addition, Einstein prefers to be located at the end of a dining facility so it does not get lost among the other concepts in the area. It also helps create a cafe feel, where students can meet and study.

Einstein developed three prototypes with a barista station for its college and other nontraditional locations: 260-, 200- and 160-square-foot units. The company won't say how much it costs to open a college unit, but it is much less than the build-out costs of a traditional unit, which averages 2,700 to 3,000 square feet and costs $490,000 to $800,000 to open. According to Carolan, sales at college units vary from $8,000 to $20,000 a week depending on where it is located on the campus.

“We have a small enough footprint that the capital costs aren't too high that you're not going to be able to get the proper ROI,” Carolan says. “This is not a loss leader. It's a profitable venture for us.”