Atlanta Bread Company is a privately owned American chain of bakery-café fast casual restaurants with 18 locations in 4 states. Its headquarters are in Smyrna, Georgia, a suburb northwest of Atlanta. Offerings include bakery items, pasta, salads, sandwiches, soups, and specialty drinks. Aside from the bakery section, Atlanta Bread has a regular menu for dine-in or takeout including: flatbreads, paninis, salads, sandwiches, side choices, and soups, as well as coffee, espresso drinks, frozen drinks, fruit smoothies, hot chocolate, iced drinks, lattes, lemonade, and tea. Despite the similar logo, name and similar type of outlets, Atlanta Bread carries no relation to the American bakery-café chain Panera Bread. History Atlanta Bread was founded by Robert and Richard Auffenberg in 1993, in Sandy Springs, Georgia (part of the Atlanta metropolitan area), where it started as a single restaurant. In 1994, Jerry Couvaras moved to Atlanta and discovered the restaurant. That year, he joined the company as the manager of a restaurant location in Marietta, Georgia. Couvaras was born and raised in South Africa, and had previously worked as an investment banker. Couvaras was appointed as the Atlanta Bread Company's president and chief executive officer (CEO) in 1995, while his brother, Basil Couvaras, became the chief operating officer (COO) that year. By that time, the Couvaras brothers were selling franchises under the Atlanta Bread Company name. By 1995, the owners began franchising and expanding across the country. In 1999, Atlanta Bread Company was among the fastest-growing franchises in the United States, with plans to rapidly double its number of restaurant locations. That year, the Couvaras brothers settled a lawsuit filed by the Auffenbergs the previous year which alleged that they unfairly gained control and ownership of the business. The settlement required that the Couvaras brothers pay the Auffenbergs millions of dollars in royalties over the next 15 years. In March 2004, Jerry Couvaras was arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa and was charged with fraud after approximately 2,000 South Africans lost a total of $5.54 million as part of an alleged investment scheme that failed in 1993 after the liquidation of two investment companies. The charges were unrelated to the Atlanta Bread Company. Basil Couvaras was appointed to run the company while Jerry Couvaras – who remained as president and CEO — stayed in Johannesburg until the charges could be resolved. Basil Couvaras was later charged in the case as well. In November 2004, Jerry