Eat at Macy’s

Federated Department Stores Inc. (Cincinnati) has announced a foodservice partnership with Cosi Inc. (New York) to open 10 restaurants this summer and fall at some of the largest Macy’s stores in the country, including locations in Seattle, Atlanta, Miami and Memphis.

“Federated’s collaboration with Cosi is another step in our reinvent process, focusing on meeting our customers’ evolving expectations,” said Federated vice-chairman Tom Cole. “Our customers want to ‘rest and refresh’ when shopping, without having to leave our store. We chose to partner with Cosi because we are convinced that its distinctive, high-quality food and comfortable, relaxed environment will have national appeal to sophisticated Macy’s shoppers.”

“Partnering with Federated is a strong endorsement both of the Cosi brand and of our organization’s success to date in positioning Cosi for growth,” said Cosi’s president and ceo Kevin Armstrong. “Federated is a pre-eminent retailer and Macy’s is one of the most prestigious brands in American business.”

The first of the new restaurants is due to open in Seattle in June or July. If the test works, Cole says the chain might expand into as many as 250 Macy’s stores. “We’re going back to the roots of what department stores are all about,” Cole said. “Our customers want us to bring restaurants back.”

The first Cosi opened in Paris in 1989, and debuted in the U.S. in 1996, in New York. There are currently 80 Cosi sandwich shops in the U.S. selling $6 sandwiches, $7 salads, square bagels and s’mores.