The Great American Bagel
The Great American Bagel is a privately held, franchised bagel-bakery chain founded in 1987 in Westmont, Illinois, operating 19 U.S. storefronts concentrated in the Chicago metro plus approximately 30+ airport locations across the U.S., Canada, and the Middle East, selling fresh-baked bagels, made-to-order sandwiches, coffee, and catering services to retail consumers, travelers, and franchise owner-operators.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersWestmont, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Great American Bagel does
The Great American Bagel (TGAB) is a privately held, franchised bagel-bakery restaurant chain founded in 1987 in Westmont, Illinois. The company sells hand-baked bagels, house-made cream cheese spreads, made-to-order sandwiches, paninis, wraps, soups, salads, coffee, and espresso drinks through a network of 19 U.S. freestanding storefronts (concentrated in the Chicago metropolitan area plus one store in Billings, Montana) and approximately 30+ non-traditional airport locations across the U.S. (including Chicago O'Hare, Reagan National, Miami, Las Vegas Harry Reid, and Charlotte Douglas), Toronto Pearson in Canada, and Jeddah and Bahrain in the Middle East. The franchisor entity, The Great American Bagel Enterprises, Inc., is led by President Chris Lettieri, who personally guides prospective operators through the franchise onboarding process; the corporate entity is The Great American Bagel Corporation, headquartered in Westmont, IL.
Revenue is generated through retail food and beverage sales at franchised and non-traditional units, initial franchise fees and ongoing royalties, in-store catering for corporate, family, and school events, reloadable stored-value gift cards (up to $500, no fees, no expiry), and online carry-out orders via the company's branded ordering portal, with additional pickup and delivery fulfillment routed through third-party delivery aggregators linked from each store page. Customer segments are split across local retail consumers in the Chicago metro, airport travelers at captive non-traditional locations, group/catering customers, and prospective franchise owner-operators.
Technology is intentionally lightweight: a cloud-based Clover point-of-sale system powers in-store ordering, a register-facing loyalty enrollment experience, and the points-based rewards program (1 point per $1, 50 points = $5 off) accessible via phone, email, or the Clover app's Perks tab; a per-store branded ordering portal handles direct carry-out; and a long-tenured, family-like franchisor-franchisee relationship is explicitly cultivated as part of the brand's operating model. No proprietary AI/ML, app, or third-party-platform integration beyond Clover is documented.
The Great American Bagel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Great American Bagel
- Legal name
- The Great American Bagel Corporation
- Website
- https://greatamericanbagel.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- The Great American Bagel is a privately held, franchised bagel-bakery chain founded in 1987 in Westmont, Illinois, operating 19 U.S. storefronts concentrated in the Chicago metro plus approximately 30+ airport locations across the U.S., Canada, and the Middle East, selling fresh-baked bagels, made-to-order sandwiches, coffee, and catering services to retail consumers, travelers, and franchise owner-operators.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Great American Bagel industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Bagel Restaurant Chain
- NAICS
- Retail Bakeries (311811)
- SIC
- Bakery Products (2050)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery) (THAFAFAA)
Keywords
Where The Great American Bagel is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Westmont
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices30 records
Markets served
The Great American Bagel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Retail Food & Beverage Sales: Revenue from in-store sales of bagels, cream cheeses, made-to-order sandwiches, paninis, wraps, soups, salads, coffee and other beverages across company-operated and franchised storefronts and airport locations.
- Franchise Fees and Royalties: Revenue from granting The Great American Bagel franchises; prospective operators review an Investment Summary, submit a Personal Profile and become franchisees, indicating franchise fees and ongoing royalties.
- Catering Services: Revenue from corporate luncheons, family brunches, school meetings and similar events, offering platters of bagels, sandwich trays, paninis, wraps, salads, soups, beverages and desserts, coordinated by individual store locations.
- Branded Gift Cards: Sale of reloadable TGAB gift cards (re-loadable up to $500) at participating U.S. locations; gift cards act as stored-value payment for in-store food and beverage purchases.
- Online & Delivery Orders: Direct carry-out orders via the company's branded online ordering portal and delivery orders placed through third-party delivery aggregators (linked from each store page).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| — | — | TGAB Gift Cards |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels5 records
The Great American Bagel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Great American Bagel is a privately held bagel restaurant chain founded in 1987 in Westmont, Illinois that bakes and sells fresh bagels, made-to-order sandwiches, soups, salads, and coffee/espresso beverages through a network of company-operated and franchised storefronts. It also operates non-traditional locations in airports across the U.S., Canada, and the Middle East, and offers catering, gift cards, and a rewards program. The brand is supported by The Great American Bagel Enterprises, Inc. as the franchisor entity.
Product overview
No factual source content with resolvable source IDs was provided in the input; therefore no product or service details can be extracted.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Fresh-Baked Bagels
- Made-to-Order Sandwiches, Paninis & Wraps
- Soups, Salads & Sides
- Coffee & Espresso Beverages
- Catering Services
- Gift Cards
- Franchise Opportunities
Quantifiable outcome
- 10+ year customer retention among long-term patrons
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Great American Bagel
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Great American Bagel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
The Great American Bagel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- Clover (point-of-sale / app platform)coreClover powers The Great American Bagel's rewards program and in-store customer-facing register display. Customers sign up and check points/balance using their cell phone or email on the Clover POS, and they can also view their rewards in the Clover app under the 'Perks' tab for participating locations.
- Chicago O'Hare International Airport (Terminal 1, 3 / Concourse B, H10, Kiosk, Rotunda)coreThe Great American Bagel operates four locations inside Chicago O'Hare (Terminal 1 Concourse B, Terminal 3 H10, Terminal 3 Kiosk, and Terminal 3 Rotunda), implying an airport-concession/lease partnership with the City of Chicago / O'Hare.
- Toronto Pearson International AirportmajorOperates a TGAB location inside Toronto Pearson International Airport, the company's primary Canadian presence.
- U.S. Airport Authorities (e.g., Reagan National, Miami, Las Vegas Harry Reid, Charlotte Douglas, Ft. Lauderdale, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston George Bush, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Norfolk, Savannah/Hilton Head, St. Louis Lambert, Long Island MacArthur, etc.)majorThe brand operates restaurants in approximately 25+ additional U.S. airports as listed in the Contact Us location selector, including Reagan National (Terminal B), Miami (East Terminal & East Satellite), Las Vegas Harry Reid (Terminals 3, C, D), Charlotte Douglas, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston George Bush, and others, indicating non-traditional airport-concession partnerships.
- Middle East Airport / Mall Operators (Jeddah, Juffair, Shakir)minorInternational franchise/operator presence in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Juffair (Bahrain), and Shakir (Bahrain) listed in the Contact Us location selector, supporting the company's Middle East footprint.
- Elk Grove Village franchisee (elkbagel.com)minorThe Elk Grove Village, IL location is operated by a franchisee that maintains its own co-branded website (elkbagel.com), illustrating a localized franchise partnership.
- Chris Lettieri (President, The Great American Bagel Enterprises, Inc.)coreChris Lettieri serves as President of the franchisor entity and is the named franchise-relations contact ([email protected]) for prospective new-store operators.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The Great American Bagel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Panera Bread: Dominant bakery-cafe chain (soups, sandwiches, bagels, coffee) and the closest broad incumbent. Same category of products and daypart mix, but national scale, deeper digital/loyalty infrastructure, and stronger catering platform make it the principal share competitor.
- Le Pain Quotidien: Bakery-cafe chain with comparable menu (sandwiches, soups, salads, pastries, coffee) and airport/mall non-traditional presence. Overlaps in catering and daypart mix with TGAB.
- Au Bon Pain: National bakery-cafe operator with especially strong airport, mall, and non-traditional presence — directly overlapping TGAB's airport-channel strategy and offering bagels, sandwiches, soups, and coffee. Closest broad incumbent for the airport distribution business specifically.
- Dunkin': National breakfast-and-coffee QSR with overlapping daypart (morning), coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and bagel products. Competes for the same morning commuter and traveler customer, with vastly greater digital and loyalty infrastructure.
Emerging players
- La Colombe Coffee Roasters: Specialty coffee and light-food cafe operator with growing airport and urban presence. Partial overlap with TGAB's coffee and breakfast-sandwich offering and a relevant comp for the airport captive-audience strategy.
Regional players
- Tim Hortons: Canada-anchored coffee-and-bakery QSR (owned by RBI). Highly relevant regional peer for TGAB's Canadian footprint (Toronto Pearson) and benchmark for Canadian bagel/coffee expansion economics.
Direct peers
- Bruegger's Bagels: Bagel-focused chain owned by JAB Holding with very similar product mix (bagels, cream cheese, sandwiches, coffee) and a comparable franchise model. Directly competes for breakfast/bagel share, particularly in airports and commuter markets.
- Einstein Bros Bagels: National bagel chain serving fresh-baked bagels, sandwiches, soups, and coffee in nearly identical formats to TGAB. Closest direct U.S. comparable, also with non-traditional/airport presence, though significantly larger system scale and more marketing infrastructure.
- Manhattan Bagel: East Coast-based bagel chain with similar fresh-baked-on-premise model and franchise distribution. Directly comparable concept and product set, though with minimal Midwest overlap.
- Noah's New York Bagels: West Coast bagel chain with on-premise baking, made-to-order breakfast sandwiches, and a near-identical value proposition to TGAB. Comparable franchise-operated store footprint and product mix.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Great American Bagel social profiles
Digital presenceThe Great American Bagel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Great American Bagel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
The Great American Bagel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Great American Bagel M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Great American Bagel
What does The Great American Bagel do?
The Great American Bagel is a privately held bagel restaurant chain founded in 1987 in Westmont, Illinois that bakes and sells fresh bagels, made-to-order sandwiches, soups, salads, and coffee/espresso beverages through a network of company-operated and franchised storefronts. It also operates non-traditional locations in airports across the U.S., Canada, and the Middle East, and offers catering, gift cards, and a rewards program. The brand is supported by The Great American Bagel Enterprises, Inc. as the franchisor entity.
Is The Great American Bagel a public or private company?
The Great American Bagel is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Great American Bagel founded?
The Great American Bagel was founded in 1987. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is The Great American Bagel based?
The Great American Bagel is headquartered in Westmont, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Great American Bagel make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Retail Food & Beverage Sales are the primary driver. The others are franchise Fees and Royalties, catering Services, branded Gift Cards and online & Delivery Orders.
Who are The Great American Bagel's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Panera Bread, Le Pain Quotidien, Au Bon Pain and Dunkin'. La Colombe Coffee Roasters is listed as an emerging player. Tim Hortons is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Bruegger's Bagels, Einstein Bros Bagels, Manhattan Bagel and Noah's New York Bagels.
Does The Great American Bagel have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Great American Bagel.
What industry is The Great American Bagel in?
The Great American Bagel's product category is Bagel Restaurant Chain. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFAFAA, Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery). Its NAICS code is 311811 and its SIC code is 2050.