Three Taylor Gourmet Locations Could Close

Homegrown sandwich shop Taylor Gourmet is thinking about trimming back its current location count, with newly announced plans to focus on stores sporting fewer square feet.

Taylor Gourmet CEO Casey Patten is currently negotiating lease termination agreements for three existing locations, reports Washington Business Journal, in downtown Silver Spring at 8535 Fenton St.; a location at Pike & Rose in North Bethesda that just opened in May; and 888 17th St. NW near Farragut Square. No final decisions have been made, he tells the WBJ, and a rep for Taylor Gourmet confirmed the news with Eater.

And Taylor Gourmet might be backing off of a previously announced deal to open inside Tysons Corner’s new mixed-use development The Boro, currently slated to debut next year with Fox Restaurant Concepts’ North Italia and Flower Child.

Patten tells WBJ the fast-casual model has changed since its first store opened a decade ago. Nowadays, he says, there’s less seating needed but demand for more kitchen space to accommodate the surge in online orders from delivery apps.

It’s unclear what Taylor’s ideal store size will be going forward; The Boro’s lease is for 2,300 square feet. Fueled by a multi-million dollar investment round, Taylor Gourmet nearly doubled its footprint since late 2015 from 10 to 19 locations currently, with 17 in the D.C. area and two in Chicago.

• Taylor Gourmet may close several D.C.-area locations as it pivots to smaller stores [WBJ]
• National Chains Flower Child and North Italia Are Making a D.C. Debut Soon [EDC]