The Works Café, a 10-unit fast casual chain in northern New England, has opened its first institutional location at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital in Lebanon, New Hampshire. The Works was chosen because its health-oriented, all-natural menu is ideal for progressive institutions such as Dartmouth Hitchcock. It replaced a closing Au Bon Pain store.
The Works was chosen by Dartmouth Hitchcock because of its outstanding reputation and brand positioning. The regional chain offers fresh, thoughtfully sourced foods with an emphasis on local ingredients and organic options. Their menu includes a wide range of soups, salads, sandwiches, grain bowls and smoothies—most of which are baked and made in store and may even be customized for personal tastes. Additionally, The Works is committed to sustainable business practices and caring for the environment through the use of recycled products, energy-efficient equipment and composting systems. Dartmouth Hitchcock’s hundreds of patients and visitors, and thousands of employees, appreciate the variety along with the company’s mission.
“We believe this is a real win for our employees, patients and visitors,” says hospital real estate manager Fritjof Pameijer. “The Works team has been a pleasure to deal with, and I believe they are going to significantly elevate our food selection here.”
Richard French, Founder & CEO of The Works Café responded, “We have long planned to expand our brand into hospitals, which are ideal non-traditional locations for our health-focused fast casual. We now have the capital and management to open these types of locations throughout New England, not only in hospitals, but universities and even airports.”
The Works is planning another new location that will open this year in Hanover, New Hampshire, one block from Dartmouth College and just 3 miles from the hospital. The location will follow their typical cafe model serving the community as a relaxed, meet-up gathering spot for the everyday. It will also support the hospital as a mini commissary when needs arise expanding the selection at the hospital location and offering additional catering backup.
New England hosts a number of leading medical school teaching hospitals, including Harvard, Brown, Tufts, Boston University, Yale and UMass. French says he has a few in his expansion sights.
The Works is based in Keene, New Hampshire. It was included in QSR’s latest 40 under 40 Ranking.
