Paradise Bakery & Cafe plans to open by Oct. 1 at Main Gate Square, the Scottsdale chain's first eatery across the street from a university. The fast-casual restaurant will be in the same building as Arizona Bookstore at 845 N. Park Ave. The chain spans 10 states, with 46 eateries in malls, airports, office buildings and free-standing. Its first look at a university district comes as Paradise plans to open 20 eateries across the country by year's end, plus 14 to 20 in 2008, company President David Birzon said in a release. Paradise Bakery's menu will include sandwiches, breakfasts, soups, pastas, salads and pastries - offerings especially suitable to residents in nearby dormitories, sororities and fraternities, said Jane McCollum, general manager at Marshall Foundation, which owns Main Gate Square. "We still have 6,000 people who go to school here that are a captive for breakfast and lunch," she said. "They want variety and diversity." Among Paradise's most popular offerings are its club and chicken walnut sandwiches, fire roasted tomato soup and chocolate chip cookies. The newcomer is part of a resurgence for Main Gate Square, which in the past couple years has welcomed a string of new businesses, including Pei Wei Asian Diner and Bakerzin. The Marshall holdings along University Boulevard and Park Avenue have winnowed to three vacancies, McCollum said. Paradise has been in Casas Adobes, 7109 N. Oracle Road, since December 2000, but the chain is most prominent in the Phoenix metro area with other restaurants in California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Indiana and Massachusetts.
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